The Final Battle
by Cappygal116
Summary: Harry has fought Voldemort and has come out alive. But he isn't done fighting yet. Harry has pushed away all his friends and his love for them, despite the pain it causes him. Will he win this last battle for a happily ever after? Rated for safety. plz R
1. Chapter 1

_Dear Harry,_

_You do realize that you've won your last battle, right? Voldemort is gone, and you never have to even pretend to duel again! Please, just come home! Because of you even all of the Death Eaters have been captured. People love you here! I love you! I know you always wanted to be an Auror, but I'm sure McGonagall would let you teach at Hogwarts. You'd be an amazing DADA professor and I doubt you want to be an Auror still with all you've seen and done._

_Love ALWAYS_

_Ginny_

_PS- At least write back and tell me your safe!_

Harry Potter put down the latest letter from his old friend. He wiped at his eyes with his wet sleeve. Leaving his friends had been harder than defeating Voldemort, but surely they didn't want him around anymore. He pulled out a scrap piece of parchment and tried to write a letter back.

_Dear Ginny,_

_I'm fine, and no, I won't come back, you wouldn't want me to._

_Harry_

He read the short letter once and crumbled it up and threw it into the fire. As he turned away from the fire, he briefly glimpsed his image in the mirror that was his one possession other than his wand and the clothes on his back. A tear traced its way down his cheek as he saw the horrid image. The flickering firelight threw the scars into stark relief. It was a face that belonged in a house of horrors, not on the body of a boy who hasn't seen his eighteenth birthday. It was worse than the famous Auror veteran, now dead, Moody, Mad-Eye Moody. It would have been cruel to force its presence onto his friends, to ask Ginny to kiss it. Harry stood up from his seat on the stump. He limped over to the fire, strongly favoring his right leg. He slowly laid himself down on a small area of cleared land. He took his shirt off and piled it up beneath his head. The fire flickered reflections in his eyes, eyes that hadn't held the simple presence of a smile for too long. Hedwig fluttered over and landed next to his chest and hooted softly. Harry raised a gnarled left hand and stroked her softly.

"Hedwig, what should I do?" The voice was gruff, as only shouting powerful curse after powerful curse could make it. She hooted softly and nibbled his ear affectionately. She briefly lingered over the area where an ear lobe should have been.

"No, Hedwig, I can't go to the Burrow, and this is home." Hedwig turned her head away from Harry and hopped a short distance away.

"Hedwig, don't be like that! You're the only one who won't scream at the sight of me!" Harry reached his hand out to stroke his only friend, but she bit his finger. Harry smiled ruefully. "Hedwig, I know you don't understand, but really, they don't want me there." Hedwig hopped another few feet away from Harry and turned toward him. She hooted gently. "Go on, girl. Maybe they'll put you to better use than I have." Hedwig hopped over to Harry and gently gripped his right arm gently with her foot. She flapped her wings and pulled his arm up with her. Harry growled and yanked his arm away. "Hedwig, they don't want me with them! Just go and live with them! You belong to them now!" Harry rolled over so that he faced away from the fire and Hedwig. Hedwig picked up a piece of parchment and dropped it on Harry's face.

Harry sighed, "I suppose you're right, they'll want to know why you're now living with them." Harry crawled over to the stump he had been sitting on earlier.

_Dear Ginny,_

_As I have no more use for her, Hedwig is now yours. _

_Harry_

He rolled up the parchment and tied it to Hedwig's leg. "Now, fly to the Burrow, and don't come back…ever." Harry smiled as Hedwig nibbled his finger affectionately for the last time. He stroked her back once more and gave her a gentle push. Hedwig hooted gently and she flapped her great wings a few times before she was in the air, rapidly shrinking into the night air. Harry watched until he could no longer see his last friend. He sighed and faced the fire again watching the flames lick the logs.

Harry closed his eyes and sighed deeply. He was truly alone now. Hedwig had been his first and best friend since he turned eleven years old. Now she was the last friend to leave him, but leave him she did. A tear rolled down Harry's disfigured cheek. He reached his roughly bandaged hand into his jeans pocket and pulled out the letter from Ginny that he had received only hours ago and read it over and over again. _God, I love her!_ Harry thought miserably to himself. He carefully folded the letter and placed it back in his pocket, amongst many others. He ran his fingers over his face, examining all of the crevices and rough spots that now decorated his face.


	2. Chapter 2

"It's just not fair!" the redhead girl shouted. She waved her hands in the air as she turned and paced across the room again and sat down on her small bed. "I mean, how on earth could he think that we wouldn't love him, that _I_ wouldn't love him?"

"I know, Ginny. I miss him too. He was like a brother to me!" The two girls were sitting next to each other on the redhead's bed.

"I love that boy with all my heart! Does he think I care if his hair's a little messier?" Ginny smiled sadly and winked at her best friend. "Besides, scars can look pretty hot." The girls giggled for the first time in weeks, when they stopped moments later, they looked at each other in shock. They laughed?

There was a knock on the door, but before Ginny could stop the person from entering, her brother walked in. "Did mine ears deceive me? Was our dear little sister laughing?"

"Surely not, Fred!" the brother's twin walked into the room, grinning happily at the sight of a smiling sister.

"Stop it you two!" Ginny scolded, smiling.

"So, what were you two laughing about?" Fred asked.

"How hot Harry looks with scars," Ginny said giggling again.

"How do you know that? Maybe he's unbearably ugly!" George asked incredulously. "Have you seen him?" He tried to hide it, but a hopeful tone snuck into his voice.

"Well, no," Ginny admitted, hanging her head. "But he's Harry, he's always hot!" She looked up and smiled. George laughed and attempted to swallow the hopeful feeling Ginny had incurred.

"Ginny, what happens if he comes back and he really is ugly? Would you stop loving him?" Hermione asked seriously.

"Of course not!" Ginny said, standing up and glaring at her friend for suggesting something so preposterous.

"Well, Gin, that's exactly what Harry's thinking right now," another red haired boy walked into the crowded room.

"How do you know that, Ron?"

"Think about it, he's a seventeen year old boy with a beautiful girlfriend, an amazingly handsome best friend who happens to have a stunning girlfriend. He's always lived with beauty, besides, he was always self-conscience about the scars he already had."

"I never knew that! How come he didn't tell me?"

"Ginny, you were his girlfriend! He wanted you to think he was perfect!" Ron said, grabbing his sister by the shoulders and shaking her.

Ginny brushed a lock of hair out of her face. "He should have known he could have told me anything!" she said as she crossed her arms and looked down. Then, once all of the words that Ron had said sunk in, she looked at him with fire in her brown eyes. "And don't say were! He's coming back! He just has to!" At that point, Ginny could no longer continue and began sobbing into Hermione's shoulder. The older girl stroked Ginny's hair, whispering through the waves.

"Just imagine how hot he'll be when he comes home!" Ginny looked up at the word when.

"So you really think he's coming home?"

"Of course, how could he stay away from the family that loves him?" Hermione asked, embracing the trembling girl. Ginny smiled.

"Thanks, Hermione, I needed to hear that." She threw a dark look at Ron. He shrugged his muscular shoulders.

"Look, I've known the old guy since first year. I'm just telling you what's going on in his wacko mind. As far as he's concerned, you guys are all old news, including me. He thinks he's going to just disappear and that no one will miss him." Ron sighed deeply. "I'm not saying I agree with him!" he added as Ginny's eyes filled with a sad anger.

"Hey, who wants to help George and I test our newest addition to our line?" Fred asked, clapping his hands.

Ginny smiled at his attempt to change subjects, "Sounds good." She stood up and followed her twin brothers out of the room with everyone following her. Within moments, peals of laughter mixed with loud bangs like explosions came from the twins' room.

"Fred! George!" a woman's yell came up the stairs, preceding the round, angry, Mrs. Weasely. She stormed up the stairs and threw open the door, gathering breath for the yelling that was sure to happen. When the door banged on the wall and there was no change in the sounds from the room, she held her breath. It was as if she was afraid that by letting it go, the scene would stop and change. There they all were, Fred, George, Ron, Hermione, and Ginny, _laughing_! They were enjoying themselves, something they hadn't done since The Battle. _If only Charlie and Harry were here, the scene would have been perfect_, Mrs. Weasely thought sadly before closing the door quietly. She turned and walked slowly down the stairs to tell her eldest son, Bill, the good news. It looked like this family just might pull through without two of its members.

**Author's Note**: Yeah, these chapters are short, just get used to it, it means I update more…and yes I'm still writing New Moony and The Hereafter, this was just an idea that wouldn't leave me alone.

Response to Reviews!

Sexi Silver- I know, I'm sorry this is such a sad story, though it has a happy ending…I think…and CONGRATS for being my first reviewer of this awesome story :p

AgniKaiKyoshi- yeah I do, just be patient with me, please

Daniel Radcliffe's Angel 10689- I'm terribly sorry I made you cry! But I was just trying to get his emotions across…and I'm extra glad you found it to be a "brilliant" piece! Thank you!

mistyandken- Well there you go, one more chapter!

harry rukes- just keep reading

madjackmaxwell- will do, thanks for the review!

LaxGoalie- Yeah I know, Harry's having a rough time right now


	3. Chapter 3

Harry stared into the flames as he tried to get some sleep. He was truly alone now. He couldn't seem to write letters to the friends he left behind, and his only friend that had been with him from earlier, Hedwig, was gone forever. This wasn't how he had imagined life after beating Voldemort. Life was supposed to be cheery now. He was supposed to be an amazing Auror with a beautiful Weasely girl by his side. He was supposed to be grinning from ear to ear in the house he inherited from his godfather, not laying on the bare ground with only his shirt as a pillow. His face was not supposed to be disfigured beyond recognition and not so many were supposed to be dead. As he closed his eyes for sleep, their names and faces swam into his mind, despite his best efforts. There they were, vivid and burning, those who no longer walked among the living; Luna Lovegood, age sixteen, just learned to apparate; Neville Longbottom, age seventeen, slow but loyal and steady; Alicia Spinnet, age eighteen, amazing chaser who could have gone onto professionals; Colin Creevey, age fourteen, a promising photographer only trying to get a good action shot of the fighting; Oliver Wood, probably the best Keeper in Britain with the best personality; Madam Pomfrey, a wonderful Healer trying to save the wounded on the battlefield; Albus Dumbledore, the greatest wizard that ever lived; and so many others. Harry blamed himself for every one of those deaths. Perhaps if he had learned to fight better, they wouldn't have died. Cedric Diggory, Michael Corner, Mad-Eye Moody, Amelia Bones, Stan Shunpike, all of them gone, and it was his fault.

Harry's eyes snapped open. His hand was holding his wand and he was standing. When he had changed positions, Harry had no recollection. Now he was tense, his body ready for battle. Was that a rustling in the leaves? Was it an escaped Death Eater? Harry turned around slowly, looking desperately for the cause of the noise. When he saw nothing at eye level, Harry looked to the ground. There moving as if she wasn't the sign for evil was Nagini.

_There you are, master. I have looked everywhere for you._

Harry stared in wonder, unsure of how to respond. There was no mistaking Voldemort's snake.

_What can I do for you Tom? I thought I had destroyed you._ Harry asked the snake coldly. It was only too possible that Voldemort was hiding in the snake's body.

_I am not that evil wizard, Master Tom. I am a free serpent once more._

_What do you mean free?_

_I did not serve Master Tom freely. He bound me to his will, and I was forced to commit many evil deeds._

_I do not believe you! _Harry shouted to the snake in parsel tongue.

_How can I convince you of my pure spirit?_

_Serpents are evil creatures; I should just kill you here and now._ Harry spoke coldly. This beast had bitten Mr. Weasely.

_I am not evil, but an old creature bound to do the will of evil wizards. I am a creature created by none other than Salazar Slytherin. Do not detest me for my past Masters' actions. I am bound to the will of the eldest heir of the great Salazar._

_I am no descendent of his!_ Harry spat on the ground near the serpent's head. The serpent jerked her head away, balefully looking at Harry.

_No, but magically, you have a connection deeper than blood with my old Master, and his son does not possess the gift of parsel tongue._

Harry's mind reeled. Voldemort had a son, since when? _And what happens if I do not wish to command you?_

_Then I cease to exist if you wish._

_Well, I…_ Harry trailed off. He just couldn't make this creature cease to exist. All the information that could be received from this creature was enough to keep it alive. If what she said was true, that she's been around since Salazar Slytherin, then so many legends could be made into facts! _I will keep and command you, but under two conditions._

_Name them, Master Harry._

_One, you will never leave my sight, and while I sleep you will be magically bound to a spot, unable to move._

_As you say, Master._

_Two, you will undergo a special ritual in which we can be absolutely sure that you contain no fragment of Riddle within you._

_As you wish._

Harry was unsettled by the ease with which he just gained Voldemort's serpent. Harry yawned, but feared the challenges of sleep with the dreams. Besides, he wanted to be sure that Nagini would not kill him while he slept first. Unfortunately, he would need help in achieving that status. It looked as though a trip to the library at Hogwarts was needed. It was summer break, and no one would be there, so it was possible to get in and out without anyone seeing him. Hopefully there would be something in there about the process of binding a magical creature and testing its spirit. Harry sat down against the trunk of an old oak tree and stared at the serpent who returned his gaze.

_Master, what do you wish for me to do?_

_What is your name?_ Harry doubted that the name Nagini was the serpents real name.

_My name is whatever you wish it to be._

_What name were you created with?_ Harry was not in the mood to create names at the moment.

_Giolla, it means servant in the old language._

_That sounds Italian to me_, Harry commented. _Though I know very little Italian._

_Yes, Master, it does sound Italian, that is because Italiano is based on the old language, the language with which I was created._

_What was it, Latin?_

_Indeed Master Harry. _

_Please don't call me master, _Harry sighed. Dobby the house elf had called him that, and sadly, Dobby hadn't been seen since he ran screaming from the battle at Hogwarts.

_As you wish, Harry._

_Much better, Giolla, _Harry smiled, maybe this serpent wouldn't be so bad after all.

**Author's Note:** All right, there y'all go, one more chapter. Now please review and let me know what you think about my latest creation!

_Response to Reviews:_

Sexi Silver-I'm glad you liked chapter two, and thanks for the congrats! And I'm glad that you understand that people will still love Harry, even though he has scars. And yes, the happy ending is coming.

Phyre's child13-Welcome to my story! I'm very glad you liked my story. And though it's probably not healthy to be addicted, I hope you still are to read one more chapter of mine! I'm glad you liked how I portrayed Ginny! That made me very happy!

mistyandken-CONGRATULATIONS! You are my tenth review! Thank you very much! And thanks very much, although I sure hope this chapter filled your expectations!

LaxGoalie-it is very depressing about Charlie; I was curious how many people were going to notice that subtle hint. Glad you liked the twins and the chapter!

SKateforever-Welcome to my story! Is this soon enough for you? And let me just say this, it has a happy ending.


	4. Chapter 4

Ginny sat up in bed. Her wide-open eyes were wet and sent tears down her smooth cheeks. Hermione had gone home to the muggle world for a while before becoming a full-fledged member of the wizarding society. For the first time since Harry had run away, Ginny was trying to survive a night alone, and it wasn't going well. Ginny wiped her eyes with her fists, sobbing gently. It had been only half an hour since Bill had gone back up to bed.

"Oh, Harry, please come home!" she cried softly. It was late and the moon was high in the velvet sky; she didn't want to wake anyone up, again. The dream she had been experiencing had been awful. She dreamt that Harry was lying on his side on the bare ground, his shirt off and under his head. The ground was uneven and rocky, not someplace Ginny could ever imagine sleeping, but Harry seemed to be in a deep slumber, despite his moving lips and an occasional swat at an imaginary being. He was lying in a clearing of a dense forest. The howl of the wind was a bone chilling noise. The trees rustled, as though they wanted to throw the intruder out of their midst. Ginny's wandering eyes found Harry once again. Ginny smiled ruefully at the thought of his chiseled chest moving in a mesmerizing rhythm. The shining scars on his chest had caused her to gasp, but then she realized that these were the scars Ron had talked about. They were probably burn marks from Harry's first year at Hogwarts, the second time he faced Voldemort. That was why Harry never took his shirt off when her brothers did as they played games in the yard. She covered her mouth in horror as she saw a patch of black on Harry's left shoulder. It was dried blood. Apparently he had been wounded in The Battle. The area around the wound was blistered. Ginny guessed it was a curse that did that to Harry. She had seen them in use during The Battle, magically created daggers that both cut and burned the flesh. She hadn't been able to see his face for his hair had grown even longer than it had been in sixth year. It had fallen across his face and hid it from her view. It was matted with blood and looked as if Harry hadn't combed or washed it since he had been at the Burrow last. However, none of that was enough to wake her. As Ginny watched Harry with sad adoration, a dark object moved along the ground. When it came into her focus, Ginny gasped in her sleep. It was a serpent. It crawled onto Harry's shoulder and began to slowly move toward Harry's neck. Ginny tried to scream, but in the dream, no sounds could be heard. Suddenly, recognition flowed into her hazy mind; it was Voldemort's snake. The horrible beast that Harry had said he destroyed. He wouldn't lie about something like that! After all, hadn't it been a horcrux? If Harry hadn't destroyed the snake, then he wouldn't have been able to kill that monster. Maybe the snake was just a random snake that lived in the wood where Harry was? No, the snake had the same green and silver pattern as Nagini had and no snake Ginny had ever seen had the same complex swirling patterns with such vivid colors. Ginny started to cry silently in the dream as the serpent pressed down slowly and carefully on Harry's neck. This snake could not be an ordinary snake. It seemed to be calculating how much it could press down without waking the sleeping boy. Ginny cried out in horror, "Harry!" She watched his chest move less regularly and not as often. No! He couldn't die! Not away from his family and everyone that loves him. She tried to reach out to him, to pluck the gigantic snake from his neck and crush it with her bare hands. Harry's lips slowly began to turn blue. No! Harry couldn't die! She screamed into the night with all her might in hopes of waking Harry to the danger, else he never wakes again.

She struggled to become free of the ropes holding her down and the suffocating pressure on her face.

"Ginny! Stop it!" a hiss came from the darkness. She barely heard it through the muffling presence that encompassed her head. Ginny stopped struggling, too numb to disobey the voice that was slowly killing her. She felt the pillow be pulled away and the sheets that had been holding her down were gently being pulled away. Ginny felt a calloused hand lift her arm up and unwrap the sheet. "Ginny, it's okay, you were having a nightmare, it's okay." The voice was a deep tenor and very reassuring. Ginny blinked as her eyes adjusted to the light given off by the lamp that had been lit by her bedside. Before she could focus her eyes, a weight pressed down on the bed. The man obviously had just sat down somewhere around her hips.

Ginny blinked a few more times, "Bill?"

"Yeah, it's me, sis." Ginny's older brother smiled kindly down at her. When Ginny had screamed, he rushed to her room and tried to wake her up. She had thrashed, fighting him, and yelling Harry's name. For fear of the whole house waking up and giving her attention that she didn't want or need, Bill had covered her face with a pillow, muffling her screams and shocking her body into wakefulness. "Do you want some hot chocolate?" Bill offered.

"Yeah, I'd like that." Ginny smiled at Bill. His hair was pulled back into the typical ponytail, but his dragon fang earring had been removed for bed. He was dressed in nothing more than a pair of muggle sweatpants. Ginny shuddered as she thought of the scars that flickered on Harry's bare chest. She closed her eyes tightly, trying to rid her mind of images from the dream. However, that served her no purpose but to make the images even more vivid. She opened them again, and focused intently on Bill's handsome face. He stood up and bent down to help Ginny to her feet. She pushed him away, but once she was standing, she began to sway, as if she were standing on a boat that was in the middle of a frothing ocean.

Bill wrapped one arm around Ginny and supported her as they made their way downstairs. He had to move to behind her with a steadying hand on each shoulder as they walked down the stairs, as they were too narrow for two to walk abreast. Once they reached the kitchen, he gently set her into a chair while he waved his wand, getting the teakettle to make something new, hot chocolate. Once it was finished, he flicked his wand a few more times and two steaming mugs full of the magical liquid drifted carefully over to the brother and sister and set down on the table; one in front of each sibling.

"Do you want to talk?" Bill offered. He gave his sister time as she closed her eyes and breathed deeply. Then, he broke the silence with a gentle suggestion. "Tell me about the dream."

"Alright, well you see, Harry was lying on his side with his chest facing me…" Ginny recounted her dream, telling Bill of all the details. Every now and then, she had to pause and slow her breathing in an attempt to calm down. At these times, Bill took both of her hands in both of his and held them, trying to steady the shaking.

"Are you sure this snake was trying to kill Harry?" Bill asked, genuinely concerned, not only for his only sister, but also for Harry.

"What else would it be doing on his neck? I saw Harry's breath slow! That has to mean something…" She spoke quickly, her voice rising in volume and hysterics with each word. Ginny closed her eyes and tried to collect herself. She took a cautious sip of the burning hot chocolate. Bill scooted his chair next to her, and pulled her into a tight embrace. Ginny let go and began crying.

"That's it, Gin. Let it all go." He started to stroke her messy hair, smoothing it out as best he could. Ginny's hot tears rolled down his bare chest. It had been so long since he had seen Ginny cry, the odd feeling of the tears on his skin was foreign to him.

While he comforted his little sister, Bill's mind was reeling. What if this dream was anything like the dreams Harry had gotten? He quickly dismissed the idea, though. Ginny had no connection to Voldemort! After another few minutes of crying, Ginny finally seemed able to collect herself.

"It's alright Gin, I'm sure Harry's fine. I bet if we give him time, he'll come to his senses and come home."

"Really?" Ginny's eyes shone bright with still more tears, but Bill was happy to notice the glint of hope in them.

"Absolutely." Bill's voice was resolute. He always seemed so sure of himself. Ginny reveled in the steadiness of his presence. That's what she needed now, an anchor in her river of emotions.

"Alright, I think I'm okay now. Thanks Bill." Ginny leaned her head against the man's shoulder. Bill sighed inwardly. She wasn't okay; he could feel that in the way she leaned on him. He could feel the relief Ginny felt by simply leaning on a friend. Bill was only too happy to be the friend that Ginny could come to to talk about everything with. However, he hugged her tight once more and let her go upstairs back to bed, against his better judgment.

Ginny was now sitting on her bed, once again crying to herself. She had heard Bill go upstairs, but she couldn't sleep. The sight of Harry being suffocated was too much for her seventeen-year-old mind. However, she needed to fight these dreams off herself. Waking Bill up once again would do her no good, and he would not want to have to spend his time comforting a depressed teenager when he should be sleeping.

Ginny stood up and walked across the room. She sat down on her school trunk that sat in front of the window. She sat there for hours, staring at the black sky. The first she moved was once the sun had completely risen. She stood up and stumbled as her numb legs tried to work. It was going to be a long day. She had gotten no real sleep. Yawning, she walked down the stairs gingerly on her tingling feet. She sat down at the empty table and poured herself a cup of cold tea from her father's breakfast. Once she was done, she went upstairs and prepared herself for the day ahead of her.

**Author's Note:** Well, there you go, chapter four. Please tell me what you think about it in a review…feel free to say how awful it is or how amazing! Now, I realize this section of my Author's Notes is getting long, the response to reviews, but I feel that it is important, so if you don't like it, then just don't read it.

Thank you to all of my reviewers!

Chapter three response:

Crush.Summer.Pink.-CONGRATS you are my 25th reviewer! I am very proud of you and all of those who made this moment possible. I hope this is soon enough for you!

SKateforever-CONGRATS you are the first reviewer of chapter 3, thank you very much! I'm glad you liked giolla/nagini!

mistyandken-Thank you, I try to create twists and ideas that aren't commonly used.

Wytil-Thanks, I was hoping the first few chapters were attention getting, because that is usually my worst part, is creating interest.

Chaos023-Like I said to Wytil, I try to create stories that have original ideas, I'm glad you like this one.

harry rukes-Be patient with me, I promise they will meet in future.

The Female Nerd-Thank you very much for the suggestion. I've never heard the term before, so I can't help you out there, but I will try to go back and describe him better, or possibly in a later chapter.

Ketta dragontamer-Oh, you'll see!

Ozbodikins-That's actually a very interesting idea, I admit, I've never thought of it, but it could be fun to play with. I'm glad you like my story so far, I hope this chapter bodes well with your current thinking! Thank you very much for putting me on your favorites list and alerts, that means a lot to me!

the singer-I can do my best, but no guarantees. Just be patient, it may take a few chapters before I can figure out how to add humor…but I'll try, thanks for the suggestion

Phyre's child13-of course it counts for female snakes too! I'm glad you liked my idea!

AneleTiger-Wow, long review! Thank you for all the ideas, I'll keep them in mind. (same response to all other reviews)

LaxGoalie-yeah, Harry is paranoid, but it's to be expected. And I'll do my best to keep Harry not so whiny in the future


	5. Chapter 5

**Author's Note: Warning, this chapter may be too graphic for some readers. It is a battle scene. This chapter is not essential for you to read, so I warn you once again, this chapter may be too graphic for some readers.**

"Awesome jinx, Hermione! That's it, Ginny! Watch it, Ron!" Harry was running around the battlefield, yelling words of encouragement to his friends and words of caution to others. "Behind you, Remus!" He pointed his wand over Remus' shoulder and muttered a curse and the encroaching Death Eater fell unconscious in the midst of saying a devastating spell. "Neville!" Harry whispered in horror as he watched his friend fall after getting hit by a green jet of light. Harry swallowed his sorrow only to see more friends fall. He had to find Voldemort and fast. That was going to be the only way to stop the slaughtering of his friends. "That must be him!" Harry said excitedly as he saw a mass of cloaked Death Eaters congregate in one spot. He started to run over, prepared to take on all of the Death Eaters and Voldemort. If it meant that his friends would stop dying, then it was worth the risk. Then he saw another Death Eater join the group, but this one shoved through all of them and then there was a flash of green. Harry stopped dead in his tracks. Did Voldemort just kill that Death Eater? No, there the Death Eater was, walking calmly away from the throng of Death Eaters that were beginning to disperse. Harry walked carefully over to where they were standing. He didn't need to walk all the way over before he knew what had caused the commotion. There was a figure lying in the ground, clad in blue. Fleur. Bill was going to be heartbroken. Harry turned around slowly, looking at the mess of bodies. Some were fighting, others running, some lie on the ground, writhing in pain, and still others were as still as death. He saw a flash of red hair fall. "No!"

"Yes," a cold voice said from behind Harry. Before Harry could spin around, he felt a line of searing pain burn across his back. A warm, sticky, fluid coursed down his back. Harry turned around to see a hooded Death Eater standing there, a sword in his hand with the shining black blade covered in blood. His blood, Harry knew. The Death Eater made a motion to slice at Harry's chest, but the boy moved out of the way, pulling a dagger out of his robes as he dodged more blows from the man before him. Harry finally felt he was ready to fight. When the Death Eater struck towards Harry's stomach, the boy grabbed the blade, ignoring the sharp pain that went through his right hand. The Death Eater yanked away the sword and Harry screamed in pain as the sword cut more flesh in his hand. Harry dove at the Death Eater, the dagger poised for use. He began to fight the Death Eater, sword versus Harry's small, deadly dagger. The Death Eater's hood fell back and Harry smiled in grim satisfaction; it was Lucius Malfoy. Harry bit back a scream every time he thrashed his arms about; it pulled at the cut in his back each time. It was not long after the beginning of the fight that Harry found his opening. He knocked away the Death Eater's slash and grabbed the handle of the ornamented sword. Harry brought his dagger down slowly on the man's hand that held the sword. Not long after a faint line of red showed across his fingers, the man dropped the sword, backing away from Harry. Harry smiled at his success, but the smile quickly changed to a howl of pain. He felt a line of fire go across the right side of his face. Blood rolled down his cheeks. Harry closed his right eye to stop the burning he felt when the blood got into his eye. However, he soon wished he hadn't. He lost his depth perception. The Death Eater that was now holding a dagger similar to Harry's was either several centimeters away or several meters, Harry couldn't tell. Despite his disability, Harry continued fighting, he was just about to disengage and run for his life, when the Death Eater suddenly stopped moving and fell to the ground. Harry looked up and saw Ginny getting up. There was a Death Eater pointing his wand at her, and Harry assumed that she had just ducked the killing curse and it had hit Lucius directly in the back. Harry thought horrified of what would have happened if Ginny's reflexes hadn't been so quick. Harry began scanning the area for any sign of Voldemort. He had seen the monster during his battle with Mr. Malfoy, but now there was no sign of him. A boy about Harry's age with blonde hair stared with mixed emotions at the dead man at Harry's feet. Harry was confused for a moment while he saw pain, horror, and sorrow cross the boy's silver eyes. Harry blinked his eyes and looked again, surely he must have seen wrong! It had looked like the boy, for the first time, felt compunction. The boy was Draco Malfoy.

"You're daddy's dead!" Harry called to the shocked young man.

"Obviously, Potter!" Malfoy called back with a sneer. Harry turned around, trusting that Draco wouldn't kill him after he watched his father die. Draco walked up to the body of his father, a sneer plastered on his face. Draco reached down and closed the man's eyes. Once he had straightened up, Draco kicked the body as hard as he could.

Harry stopped dead in his tracks when he heard a woman's voice. "You can die just like your buddy did, at my hands!" Harry spun around, searching desperately for the source of the voice. He was going to have revenge on Bellatrix Lestrange if it killed him. Harry ran blindly through the battle until he came upon a dueling pair. It was Remus and a cloaked Death Eater. There was no doubt who the Death Eater was, though. The taunting voice would probably haunt Harry for the rest of his days.

"Bellatrix!" Harry called boldly. The woman turned.

"Oh! Are you here to defend your werewolf friend?" she asked.

"No, actually, I'm here to kill you. Like I should have done three years ago!" Harry's anger overflowed and shouted with three years of anger and resentment into the sunset, "AVADA KADAVRA!" The woman ducked and the curse hit a young boy in the back. Harry reeled in nausea. The setting sun glinted off of the camera as the boy fell to the ground. There was a flash as the camera took one last picture of the battle scene. Harry stood stone still, staring at what he had just done. His wand was still raised, his mouth still open. Bellatrix laughed and ran away. Harry had not thought of what curse he was going to send at her, the words just jumped into his mouth and he released them. Remus walked over to the shocked boy and gently lowered the young man's hand that was tightly clenching an eleven-inch piece of holly wood. Harry's eyes stared unblinking at the immobile boy who had idolized Harry years ago. Remus turned away from his young friend, his eyes filling with tears. He slumped his shoulders and walked back into the middle of the battle, seeking out the woman who should have died seconds ago, his eyes smoldering with pain and anger. Harry was alone, still staring, his numb mind not comprehending what he had just done.

"Well done, Harry Potter." Harry wheeled at the cold voice, snapping out of his reverie. There, standing calmly was a man with paper-white skin and red eyes.

"Good to see you again, Tom," Harry said, seething.

"I'm afraid this is the last time we will meet," the monster said quietly. Harry screamed in agony as his scar split his head in two. Harry's ears rang with the hiss of Voldemort's evil voice.

Once Harry had managed to push past the pain, he spoke to the Dark Lord calmly, "I'm afraid so. Not that it hasn't been fun fighting you each year, but frankly, I'm getting tired of it, and it's time I get rid of you once and for all. May you die well." The eighteen-year-old boy's face was set. He had been mentally preparing for this day for the past few years, but he was still scared.

"Don't act so tough! I know you're scared!" the shrill voice seemed to scream in Harry's ears, though its actual level was no more than a mere whisper. "You're going to die, just like your father, trying to win a fight in which you cannot win."

"You only wish I was scared!" Harry called out. His voice sounded braver than he felt. The two were circling each other, each trying to distract the other while he sent in a devastating curse.

"Quit playing around and fight me like a man!" Voldemort called out. Harry screamed again as his scar burned his forehead twice as hard. "Now, bow to your opponent. I'm sure we've been over this before." Harry stared, his eyes frozen in an anger that he had never felt before. Voldemort made a motion with his hand, trying to push Harry into a bow as he had done four years ago. However, he was surprised when met a resistance that he couldn't break.

"That won't work this time, Tom," Harry said, completely unfazed by the incredible pressure on his spine.

"Never call me that wretched Muggle name again!" Voldemort's eyes narrowed even further as his red eyes blazed like the blood red sky of the setting sun. Harry gasped as his scar gave a particularly bad throb of pain when Voldemort growled furiously at Harry's growth in resistance. The white-skinned monster then raised his wand slowly. "AVADA KADAVRA!" Voldemort screamed pointing his wand at Harry's chest, who was clutching at his scar. Harry automatically dove to the ground. A thump behind him told Harry that someone had just died in his place. Numbly, he wished it was a Death Eater, but at the moment, he couldn't turn to look. He felt stones tear at his face as Harry slid through the stream bank. The water chilled Harry to the bone. He reached up to wipe the water from his eyes, but soon stopped as he felt blood trickling down the mangled mess that was his left hand. Harry wiped the stones out of the cuts on his face with the sleeve of his robe. His face stung like it never had before. He opened his eyes and they burned with the salt of the river and the blood that dripped in his eyes. Harry pushed back his hair with his bloody hand and stood up. Before he could climb out of the stream, Harry heard Voldemort whisper venomously, "Expelliarmus." Harry saw his wand fly out of his hand and into a pale hand. The hand, though, did not belong to Voldemort. It belonged to Draco Malfoy. Harry sent a few curses at Voldemort using all of his strength, he could only do so much damage with wandless magic, but he had to try what he could do. Voldemort easily deflected each of the supposed spells. Draco made a wave with his own wand as he threw Harry his. Voldemort screamed in pain and rage as he spun around, trying to find the person who had cursed him. Harry automatically reached out a hand and caught the wand, but he was stunned. For the second time that night, his mind was frozen. What had just happened? Voldemort had seen Harry catch the wand, and given the fact that Harry was staring, gaping, at Malfoy, that must be who had thrown it to him.

"You will pay for this, boy!" Voldemort yelled, his eyes blazing, his voice stinging the ears of Harry and Malfoy. "CRUCIO!" Harry watched as the scene before him unfolded. What was going on? Malfoy dove to the ground, narrowly dodging the unforgivable curse. Voldemort's blistering eyes looked at Harry. Harry shook himself out of his stupor and stared into the inferno he found in Voldemort's eyes. "Harry Potter, you will pay for every misdemeanor that you caused since you were born. You will feel the pain I felt when I was torn from my body! CRUCIO!" Harry gasped as something slammed into him. He heard a scream not far from his left ear. He looked up; there was Malfoy. He had apparently pushed Harry out of the way, saving Harry the pain. Harry stood up, his anger now causing himself pain. Harry looked down at the boy that for so long had been his enemy; he was curled into the fetal position, whimpering in pain. Harry was tired of this. He was tired of people dying, of people getting hurt. It was time Voldemort died properly. No more games, no more wasting time. Voldemort was going to die, and he was going to die now.

"Someone take Tom out of the oven, he's done," Harry said coolly. His eyes blazed calmly. It was no longer an uncontrolled fire, but one that should be feared. Harry fought harder than he had ever fought before. Even if it killed him, he was ending this war here and now. Harry yelled "crucio" over and over again, always hitting his mark. He wanted Voldemort to suffer the pain he had caused so many others before finally dying. Harry efficiently dodged again and again as Voldemort tried to kill this new Harry Potter. Voldemort backed up as Harry pressed on towards him. Voldemort looked into Harry's eyes, and suddenly he knew; he was going to die now. His horcruxes weren't going to save him this time; they were gone. The Dark Lord, for the first time in decades, wanted to run. His eyes dimmed until they glowed only faintly. Harry paused briefly in his curse-fest as he looked into Voldemort's eyes. They were no longer the eyes of the Dark Lord, but the eyes of Tom Marvolo Riddle. Not the one that had talked about horcruxes, but the one who had been shoved into a strange school where magic became his world. There was fear in the man's eyes. Harry's voice was now hoarse from shouting the unforgivable curse, crucio, over and over again. He paused in his advancement and stared callously at the greatest enemy of the wizarding world. "Do you now know what you've done to the world?" Harry asked coldly, narrowing his piercing green eyes while his left hand searched in his robes for something. Voldemort screamed as Harry drove the dagger he had pulled out of his robes into the Dark Lord's heart. Blood trickled onto his black robe. Voldemort touched his white, skeleton fingers to the wound and stared in shock as they came away red. Harry stared mercilessly on as Voldemort suffered the ultimate pain, death, something he had never dreamed he, as the Dark Lord, would go through. Harry waited there, watching as Voldemort breathed his last. There was a flash of light. Harry watched as the light blew over the battleground. Everyone fell unconscious as the light encompassed each person. Harry bent down and took his wand's brother from the long, white fingers. Harry then walked around to each Death Eater, dead or alive, and bound them both magically and with ropes. Once he had completed that task, he bound Voldemort and stuck his dagger in the monster's throat. Harry turned around silently and walked across the stream and into the woods.

**Author's Note**: All right, let me know what you think of that chapter! I know a lot of people are reading this story (actually its just a guess taken from the number of hits I have) and I know not nearly that many are reviewing…so PLEASE REVIEW! I love getting reviews, whether they say what's wrong in my story, or what's good in it, I love them all! So go ahead and leave me a nice review!

Response to Reviews:

Phyre's child13-CONGRATS! You were both the first reviewer of chapter four, but my 30th review, thank you to you and those of you who made this moment possible. Thank you for your kind words! And I cannot reveal anything about her dreams, yet, but an answer to your question is coming in the future!

Chaos023-I'm glad you liked it! I'm sorry if the chapters are two short, I like writing long ones, I really do, but then I don't update NEARLY as often, and this way I'm updating three times a week. So…but in the future, I'll try to make them a little bit longer to make it more bearable.

Sexi Silver-You will eventually know if it was a vision or not, don't worry. And I'm glad you liked chapter 4!

Ketta dragontamer-I mean the answer is coming to you soon enough! Lol and I guess you'll just have to keep reading to see if Ginny is a Seer or not! Yes, I do know I'm evil, thank you Grins

The Female Nerd-Congrats, you are my 35th reviewer thank you to you and those of you who made this moment possible! I'm really not totally sure, I was thinking about making it a HPGW…or maybe not…Typically I don't write shippers, but…I don't know, I'll see where it is going…Stay posted and I'll let you know as soon as I know…wow, that makes me sound kind of like a bad author…ah well

CrazyCarlSoF-Oh YAY a new reviewer! Welcome to my club of happy reviewers for The Final Battle, I'm so glad you joined us! Yeah, I know I have to work on my Brit-speak…that's in the final editing, so please just bear with me for now.


	6. Chapter 6

Your eyes shone as you shouted 

_Would you ever be same?_

_Is that fun loving boy gone?_

_Lost to the world of hate and war?_

_I watched you cause pain_

_Over and over again_

_Barely pausing to breathe_

_I thought I knew you_

_I thought you loved life_

_And would never bring harm and pain_

But there you were trying to kill Oh how I long to see you once more 

_To meet that careless boy_

_A young man of sixteen years_

_Is he gone forever?_

_Replaced by that painful monster_

_That reveled in hurting the enemy_

_I loved that jovial boy_

_And I'll try to love_

_This man born of the war_

_But if he never comes home to me_

_I'll never get the chance_

_To teach him to love once more_

_To be a jovial man_

_With the war in his far memory._

Ginny read over her writing. She sighed and crumpled the piece of parchment in front of her. Why wouldn't Harry come home already? She remembered watching, through blurry eyes, the shape of man walking amongst the bodies, shedding a tear over some and binding others in uncomfortable positions. Then, just before her vision went black, she watched him walk away, through the river and into the woods. She had wanted to cry out for him, but she found that she couldn't. The scene was heart wrenching as Ginny fought the encroaching blackness. Harry looked like the one soldier walking away from a war, and perhaps he would be the only one to walk away. Maybe everyone would die, Ginny didn't know. Though why he would bind dead people, she did not know. What seemed like moments later, Ginny opened her eyes and shook the fuzziness from her mind. She stood up and looked around her. Some people were already standing and some were still lying down. Ginny's eyes scanned the area, looking for the form of a young man. When she found none, she sighed and started helping others stand and figure out which bodies were dead and which were merely unconscious. Jus as she was checking for a pulse on one of the Death Eaters, she had seen a horrific sight, one that would never leave her mind. A man with paper white skin, drenched in his own blood was lying on the cold ground, surrounded by a dense fog. A silver dagger stood straight up from his neck. His eyes were wide open in what appeared to be fear. Ginny walked slowly over to the form and to the dagger, it was Harry's. She carefully took it out of the monster's neck. Ginny wiped the blood off of the metallic blade onto a nearby Death Eater's robe and she gently tucked it into a hidden pocket in her robes that had been reinforced to hold such things.

Two weeks after that ghastly day, Ginny's eyes had dark circles under them. Other than the moments of sleep it had taken her to have that wretched dream, Ginny hadn't gotten any sleep last night. She sighed longingly as she heard laughter from the twins' room, which sat directly above her own. How were they able to continue after losing so much in The Battle? Not only had they lost their brother, but their best friend, and yet they were able to continue having fun. Their business thrived as people tried to find amusement in the products the Weasely twins came up with.

At a knock on her door, Ginny shoved the bits of crumpled parchment into a drawer and dove onto her bed, grabbing a book as she went. Once she was safely lying on her bed, book open to an appropriate page, she stood up, marking the page with her finger. She walked slowly to the door and opened it, poking only her head out.

"Do you want to play some Quidditch?" Ron asked, trying to see into her room.

Ginny held up her book. After reading the title quickly, she said, "I'm trying to do some reading for next year."

Ron turned his head sideways to read the title of the book. Ginny snapped it around so that he couldn't see the title any more. "Aw come on, Gin," Ron pleaded.

"No, I really need to get some studying done for school, I missed a lot of school at the end of the year." Ginny pulled her head back into her room and tried to shut the door. However, the door wouldn't shut all the way. Ron had put his foot in the way. He pushed the door open.

"Ginny, you can't hide in this room all day! Come and see the sunlight! Besides, if you're going to be Quidditch captain next year, you need to start theorizing training methods. Who better to test them on than the ex-Quidditch team, captain included?" Ginny sat down at her small desk and opened her book and started reading. "Ginny! Don't be like that!" Ron protested.

"Look Ron, I just want to be alone now. Can't you respect that?"

"Can't you respect Harry's decision to separate himself from everyone?" Ron countered.

"That's different!" Ginny sniffed. "He really shouldn't be alone. It's not safe, and it's not healthy."

Ron gave his younger sister a knowing look. Ginny cursed to herself as she realized the trap she had gotten herself into. "Fine, I'll play Quidditch!" She threw her book onto her bed and flounced out of the room with Ron following, smiling. When Ginny turned to go downstairs, though, Ron went up one more flight of stairs to get the twins to play also.

"Hey Ginny!" an older girl greeted Ginny as she stomped down the rickety stairs. Ginny looked up and smiled to see Angelina Johnson and her best friend, Katie Bell.

"Hi Angelina, Katie. Don't tell me you came just to play Quidditch!" Ginny said, smiling.

"Actually, no. We came here to talk to Fred," Angelina said, allowing a dreamy look to cross her face.

"Okay, no!" Ginny said. "I will not tolerate those kinds of looks in this household about my brother!" The three girls laughed together, each with a bit of sadness remaining in their eyes.

"So, Ginny, I heard you're Quidditch captain this year," Katie said. "Congratulations!"

"Yeah, thanks," Ginny said, morosely thinking of her old Quidditch team captain, Harry Potter.

"Oh, you'll do great!" Angelina said, misinterpreting Ginny's sudden moodiness.

There was a clatter as three boys charged down the stairs. Ron in the rear, yelling. "All I wanted to know was if you wanted to play Quidditch! Just be happy Mum's not home right now!" The three girls began to giggle when they saw Ron. His face was covered with little faces, each turning red and steaming at the ears.

"What about Mum not being home?" asked a voice from around the corner. The twins and Ron blanched. Mrs. Weasely would not be happy that the twins tested another product on their younger brother.

"Nothing, Mum," Ginny said with a straight face. "Fred just said a bad word, that's all." She smiled slightly as she saw Ron trying to run up the creaky staircase without his mother noticing. He swore under his breath, though, when he reached the top step and it gave a merciless groan.

"Ron!" Mrs. Weasely cried up the stairs.

"Yeah, Mum?" Ron asked without turning around.

"Turn around and look at me, when talking!" Mrs. Weasely demanded.

Ron turned around slowly. Ginny watched as the little faces went from white with wide eyes to skin toned with patches of pink on the little ears and covering the cheeks. Everyone in the room braced himself, or herself in Ginny's case, except for Angelina and Katie who seemed confused.

Ginny leaned over to the two girls and whispered, "Fred and George are going to get it now. Mum hates it when they test products on one of us as a prank." Katie nodded her head and watched to see how the scene would unfold.

"Oh, very clever, boys!" Mrs. Weasely said, chuckling softly. Ginny looked, bewildered, at the twins, who looked equally confused. The little faces on Ron's face changed quickly into undecided faces with even smaller question marks above each face. "Now, I think you were going to go play a spot of Quidditch?" Mrs. Weasely said, prompting them to go outside.

Once the group had gotten outside, they looked at each other, befuddled. "Well, that was strange," Fred commented.

"If I had known that Mum was going to like the Face on Face Fantasies, we could have slipped some into the tea in the morning long ago!" George said, smiling.

"Oh no!" Ginny said, her eyes flashing over the group over and over again.

"What?" Angelina asked, concern in her eyes.

"We have seven people! We can't play Quidditch!" Ginny said, half hoping that they really couldn't play.

"What are you talking about Gin?" Bill asked. He looked down and counted on his fingers as he ticked off the names. "You, Fred, George, Ron, Angelina, Katie, I'm playing instead of Charlie, and Ha…Oh." They bowed his or her head as what Bill had said sunk in. It had been much easier for them to accept the loss of Charlie because it had been absolute. There was no chance of Charlie ever coming home again, but they knew that Harry was out there somewhere. They stood there in silence for a few seconds before the twins tried to lighten the mood by racing to the field. There was a moment in which everyone stared at the retreating backs of Fred and George Weasely before the grouped decided to give chase

"Okay, here's how we're going to do it," said Ron. "Fred, George, you two will be captains, and beaters. Char…Bill and I will be Keepers, Angelina and Katie can be Chasers. Any questions?"

"Yeah, am I playing?" Ginny asked.

"Yes you are, you will be the Seeker," Ron said, absentmindedly.

"What do you mean 'The Seeker'?" Ginny asked, confused. There were supposed to be two Seekers, her and Harry…

"Yes, you will not be on a team."

"Sorry, Ron, but that makes no sense!" Ginny complained. "How the heck can I win if I can never touch the Quaffle, and how on earth do you score a three-way game of Quidditch?"

"Simple, you don't earn points. You, Ginny, will be our timer. When you catch the Snitch, the games over, and whoever is winning at that point wins the game," Ron explained.

"Oh," Ginny said, still thinking about how it was going to work.

"Okay, Fred George, play rock, paper, scissors to figure out who picks first," Ron instructed. They each bounced his fist three times before they wandlessly transfigured two blades of grass into what they wanted. Fred's turned into a large boulder, and George's turned into a piece of paper. George levitated the piece of paper to land neatly on top of the boulder.

"I win!" George cried triumphantly. "I pick Bill"

"Angelina," Fred said, flashing his girlfriend a smile.

"Katie.

"Ron."

The group then took to the air, soon forgetting the somber moment of before in the thrills of flying once more.

**Author's Note:** I'm terribly sorry, I just ran out of time to post on Friday. Now, I caught on that posting three times a week was getting to be too much, so it will be reduced to twice per week (most likely on Mondays and Fridays). Because of the lengthening of time to wait for a new chapter, I will do my best to make them a little longer, because it has been expressed that my chapters are too short. Also, I hope my battle scene didn't turn anybody away, that won't be the typical mood of the piece…I don't think. Now, I will respond to all you awesome reviewers!

Crush.Summer.Pink.-Thank you very much, I'm glad you liked my battle scene. Though, I must ask, what does BI mean (for fear of sounding like an idiot…but I'm quite curious)

Hnz786-Welcome new reader! I'm glad you like my story so far!

Ketta dragontamer- evil cackle I'm glad you liked my chapter, and you will see Draco again, I'll leave it to that.

Chaos023-I'm glad my warning didn't deter you from reading; I only thought it fair to warn everyone though. I admit, I feel horrible for doing these things to Harry and those around him…but like you so aptly put, "These things happen" Congratulations by the way for figuring out that Colin died…some people (like my friend) didn't get it right away, but I went ahead with it anyway…thanks!

Phyre's child13- Congratulations! You are my fortieth review! It makes me so happy seeing the review number go this high! Thank you to you and all of you that made this possible! http/ (sorry, the cookie monster ate your cookie…and no, it's not a virus or any junk like that) now, I'm glad you liked my chapter and the descriptions!

The Female Nerd- thank you

mistyandken- I didn't know he did either, but apparently he did…it's funny how your characters get out of your control sometimes p thanks for the review!

Sexi Silver- CONGRATS! You are the first reviewer to the lovely (but not so nice) chapter 5! I am very proud of you, thank you! I'm glad you liked my chapter! Yes, Colin was a tragedy (I'm really happy you figured out that it was Colin, it took my friend a while to figure it out…) And you will get your answer (about Bellatrix) in chapter seven I believe.


	7. Chapter 7

Harry looked over his shoulder, half expecting to see a Death Eater chasing him. When he saw none, though, he breathed a sigh of relief. After what he had done, he could never return to the wizarding world again. He had killed a man! He had killed two people using the Unforgivable Killing Curse and he had used the pain curse an innumerable amount of times! There was no way he'd escape imprisonment, and that was the last thing Harry wanted, more fame, especially the kind of fame that had made Sirius such an infamous name in the wizarding world. He shook his head slightly, trying to get rid of the headlines that flashed in his head, "Harry Potter Kills Ally Over Death Eater" "The Boy Who Lived Kills Boy" Maybe he would be forgiven for killing Colin Creevey and Bellatrix Lestrange after all, it was a war, but never would he be forgiven for using the Unforgivable Killing Curse on two other human beings. Harry clutched to his throat; the guilt was suffocating, the air was dank and not breathable. Harry reached to his forehead, hoping that his aching scar would stop causing him pain now that Voldemort was gone. He gasped and slipped to the ground, gasping for air.

Harry opened his eyes. Everything was blurry now. He struggled to get his feet underneath him; something was holding his neck down. Harry's mind raced and he tried to take a deep calming breath to slow it, but found that he couldn't breathe. Then, it all came back to him. Nagini being Giolla, him resting in the woods before running more, everything. Harry scrabbled at the snake on his neck, but he couldn't pull it away. Then, just as Harry resigned himself to his predicament, the snake slithered calmly away. "How could you?" Harry screamed as soon as he got his breath back. When there was no response Harry started to get mad, but then he remembered why. Giolla didn't understand English! Harry then translated what he had just said into parseltongue, glaring at the snake before him, radiating anger and distrust.

_Master, you were having a nightmare. I felt it my duty to wake you up._ Giolla said calmly.

_Then shout my name or shake me, don't kill me! _Harry said throwing his arms around.

_You know as well as I do, I cannot shout or shake you awake. _Giolla said, a slight hint of sadness in her hiss.

Harry hung his head, he had not meant to make the snake feel bad, but the prospect of dieing at the hands of the snake that had served Voldemort for so long was very disquieting. _I'm sorry Giolla, it's just that I've been dodging death since I was a year old, dieing in my sleep by the doings of a snake I do not quite trust yet is very alarming._

_It's all right, Mas…Harry, I understand._ With that, Giolla slithered a little closer to the dying fire and curled into a tight ball, closing her beady eyes. Harry resisted the urge to wake her.

Resigning himself to a few hours alone, Harry sat on the ground, leaning against a tree and stared into the dancing flames of his small fire. He balled up his shirt and propped it between the tree and his head, creating a soft spot for his aching head to rest. His fingers began to trace his latest scars on their own, while Harry thought of what he had left behind two weeks ago. The mess on the battlefield had been horrendous. When he had left, he had thought of nothing but getting as far away from everyone as possible, now, he wished he could be near all of them. "No," Harry said to himself into the silent night. "They won't want a monster like me around them!" Harry closed his eyes tiredly. There was nothing to do with his days now that he lived alone in the forest. Harry's hand went to his stomach as it loudly complained for food. "No," he said quietly. "There is no food in these wretched woods, I have to conserve what I do have."

Hermione's strict voice filled the air, "Harry, you need to eat!" Harry's eyes flew open and looked around hopefully, but Hermione was nowhere in sight. Harry closed his eyes once more. After a few minutes, they snapped open. Harry stood up and began walking into the dark forest, his wand at the ready, but unlit. He did not notice the snake that uncoiled and followed him. Harry reached the edge of the forest and looked around uncertainly. The cottage that sat nearby had no lights on, and no one stood in the open area. Harry walked quickly, darting in the shadows, towards a large cleared field with stands erected around it. When he reached a small shed just outside of the stands, Harry quickly murmured the spell that unlocked the door. He reached in quietly and took out his beloved Firebolt. Harry mounted his broom and kicked off the ground as hard as he could. Instantly, Harry's mind cleared and the wind tore at his sadness. Harry made a few loops in the air, he dove at the ground, pulling up and pelting at the night sky, soon, his troubled thoughts were gone. Harry whooped into the night, smiling for the first time in months. He raised both of his hands into the air triumphantly. No one could touch Harry now, no one or nothing. Harry was a boy, a student, only eighteen years old and not a trouble to speak of. Unfortunately, he had never had the opportunity to not have any troubles. Even the adventures of his school days had housed their own worries about Voldemort and his Death Eaters. Harry flew and flew and flew. He was tireless, this was where he belonged, and this was where he was happy, in the air, flying for all he was worth. Only when the sky began to turn pink with the rising sun did Harry reluctantly touch the ground again. Harry smiled as he locked the broom shed again. He walked back to his campsite with a new spring in his step and broom over his shoulder, humming a merry tune. After a few moments of walking, Harry decided that he could practice his agility on a broom. Seconds later, he was only a few feet off the ground, dodging trees and wiping tears from his eyes. His speed was enormous, obviously, he felt much braver than he ever had before The Battle. He reached a minute clearing and closed his eyes, blissfully taking in the feeling of flying. When he thought he had gotten near to the end of the clearing, Harry opened his eyes. He jerked his broom handle up, trying to dodge the form in front of him. He let go of his broom to guard his face as he flew into the branches of the trees above him. He grunted in pain as he felt his scars rip open again. Harry gasped as he felt a lurch underneath him; suddenly, he was freefalling through the air. The branches that had torn at his bare chest and face moments ago on his way up, now tore at him, as he fell faster and faster.

Harry opened his eyes and tried to sit up. He stopped, however, when a searing fire raced through his back when he moved. He laid still a moment while he tried to figure out how severely he was hurt. Since nothing seemed to be broken, Harry bit his lip and stood up. He bit down harder, tasting blood on his lips, when he almost lost consciousness. His mind swam, his focus almost non-existent, though his hearing was as keen as always. There was a screeching that pained his head to hear along with a hiss. The hiss seamed to be saying actual words. Well that's silly, Harry thought to himself. Hisses don't sound like words! Then, a gear clicked in his mind. Giolla! Harry blinked his eyes a few times. Once he could see properly again, Harry took notice of his surroundings. The sky was growing brighter and brighter. Harry looked through the hole in the canopy above the clearing that was mere meters from where he stood. Guessing from the length of the shadows the trees cast, it was roughly ten o'clock. He must have been out for hours; it had been barely dawn when Harry had left the grounds of Hogwarts. Then, Harry's green eyes dimly saw a flash of white. The form was so familiar.

"Hedwig!" he cried out joyously when he saw that it was his owl. "What news do you have from Ginny?" he asked, reaching for the piece of parchment that was tied to her leg. He stopped, though, when he recognized his own messy scrawl on the parchment.

_Harry!_

Harry turned as he heard the hiss again. There was Giolla. He gasped as he saw quite a few sizable red marks on her beautiful skin. He watched as Hedwig dove after the serpent. "Hedwig! No!" Harry called. He ran toward his bird, waving his arms. She hooted warningly and struck again at the serpent that was trying to slither into a bush. Harry ran faster and got in between the snake and the owl.

_Harry, she's trying to kill me!_ Giolla said, sounding frightened.

"Hedwig!" Harry said again as his owl tried to get around him and attack the snake once again. He reached out with both hands and ensnared her in his arms. "Be nice Hedwig!" She tried to get away and hooted angrily when she found herself powerless against Harry's superior strength.

_Oh, thank you!_ Giolla said, still hiding in the nearby underbrush.

_Why on earth was Hedwig attacking you?_ Harry asked accusingly. His green eyes narrowed. Harry wished desperately that he could talk to Hedwig like he could Giolla.

_She's an owl! What else would you expect of such a filthy animal? _Giolla's cold tone shocked Harry.

_I've known Hedwig for over seven years. She has _never_ acted badly. Not once did she attack anything unprovoked._ Harry continued to hold his owl against her will as he advanced on the serpent that was lying in front of him. _You aren't going anywhere until I get some straight answers out of you!_ Harry's low voice was menacing. Giolla raised her head slightly. Her beady black eyes looked solemnly at Harry.

_Harry, if you wish me to cease to exist…_ Giolla started sadly.

_No! I want answers. You and I are going to talk until I am happy with the answers I have!_ Harry growled. The snake before him lowered her head and in an instant was several feet behind Harry. On instinct alone, Harry reacted. Before he knew what he was doing, Harry had released Hedwig and dove at the retreating snake. Somehow, he had managed to pin the snake beneath him, holding the fanged mouth shout with one hand and the tail to the ground with the other. Hedwig hooted indignantly and flew to a low branch a few meters away. _Giolla, you will tell me all that I ask about_. Harry said, pressing his thumb firmly into the serpent's soft jaw.

_Harry…think…_Giolla said, straining for air.

_Why was Hedwig attacking you? And don't tell me that it's because she's an owl!_ Hedwig chose that moment to fly down and peck at Harry's shoulder. Harry winced in pain as she accidentally hit a recent bruise that was developing from his fall earlier that day. Harry let go of Giolla's tail and swatted at his old friend, snapping at her. "Hedwig! Get away!" Just as Harry went to grab the snake's tail again, he felt a pressure on his waist. He rolled his eyes. _Giolla, you cannot win!_ Harry said, almost laughing.

_What are you laughing at?_ Giolla's hissing voice was beginning to sound frightened.

Hedwig screeched and tried to grasp the flailing tail that was whacking Harry over and over again. Harry grunted as he got hit again and again, each time hurting worse than the time before. Harry's eyes began to slowly close as the thrashing tail began beating as his vulnerable neck.

"No!" he shouted to himself. "I can't lose it again!" He felt talons pierce the skin on his back and he jerked in the pain. "Hedwig!" he said, thankfully. Now if only the thrashing snake would stop moving. Harry tried to open his eyes as he heard Hedwig flutter down to the ground to rest near his head. He smiled faintly as his vision went blurry once again that day. Harry's face went slack as he fell into blackness once more.

**Author's Note:** Well, that took me a while to get up, I'm sorry for the wait, writing about Harry's getting really hard, I admit, but I have ideas for upcoming chapters…I'm sorry it's not a very good chapter…but the chapter eight might make up for it…anyways, enough of my worthless babbling!

Response to Reviews: THANK YOU LOVELY REVIEWERS! YOU'RE MY BEST FRIENDS! (lol, not to sound desperate p ) wow...53 reviews now, I never thought I'd get this far, keep them coming dear friends!

AgniKaiKyoshi- ah, no problem that you don't review much…you review the latest chapters, so I know you're reading smiles and what do you mean about my poetry? How can I do what?

LaxGoalie- yay! I make you look funny! Lol, j/k I'm glad you like it!

Ketta dragontamer- yeah, I really liked Charlie too, and I didn't want to kill him…but he needed to die…sorry…and it won't be too too long before the beginning of the end

Sexi Silver- Though you weren't the first reviewer, you _were _the 50th! YAY! CONGRATS to you and all who made this moment possible! I'm glad you liked what Ginny wrote…I admit, I didn't spend much time thinking about it…but I needed Ginny to do something to release the depression…and yeah. I thought Ron was being rather smart, I'm so proud of him smiles

harry rukes- thanks for the review

Crush.Summer.Pink.- thanks for the note and I'm really glad you like my chapter! Hopefully you at least tolerated this one p

The Female Nerd- Sorry it took me so long to get this chapter up…I'm glad you liked the last chapter!

Phyre's child13- CONGRATS! You were the first reviewer to chapter 6! I am very proud of you! (You'll have to fight the cookie monster again…he keeps stealing all of my cookies!) You have no idea how happy it made me to read your review. "You're story is wonderful! Loved the chapter." I love it when people say things like that! And as for Harry, he's been in three chapters already! (Four now…) And yes, the Cookie Monster is a bad bad bad monster…no desert for him for a week! lol


	8. Chapter 8

"Five more minutes, just give me five more minutes, Hermione, and I promise I'll get up!" Ginny mumbled into her pillow. She swatted at the hand that was patting her on the shoulder. The sun had been above the distant horizon for scarcely more than half an hour and Ginny had every intention of sleeping until noon. Last night had held another horrifying dream for her, but somehow, she had been able to push it out of her mind and sleep again. She rolled over and buried her head in her overstuffed pillow. The patting on her back continued, and Ginny gave up. "Fine!" she shouted, throwing her covers back. She rubbed her brown eyes, trying to get the sleep out of them. She pulled her hands away from her bleary eyes and gasped. Hermione was nowhere to be seen, but sitting on her bedpost was a snowy owl. The owl was shifting from one foot to another, impatiently waiting for Ginny to react. "Hedwig," she said softly. It must be a dream! Ginny rubbed her eyes, and when she opened them again, Hedwig wasn't gone like Ginny had expected, but still anxiously sitting on her bed. She wanted to reach her hand out for the letter that was attached to the owl's leg, but she couldn't move. It had been so long since this owl had visited the Burrow, not since Harry was last there. Harry never wrote letters to Ginny, and if he did, he used Pig, the owl Ginny used to send him letters. It couldn't be good that Hedwig was here now...it just didn't make sense that Harry would all of a sudden start sending letters. Maybe he was dying...Ginny shook her head, banishing the depressing thought. It was a good thing that Hedwig was here, she convinced herself. It meant that Harry wanted to talk to her, maybe even come home! Ginny's face brightened as she imagined the letter she was sure to read in moments. _Dearest Ginny, I'm so sorry that I've been gone for so long, but I'm coming home, and I'll never leave again. I expect I can be home by tomorrow, after I get cleaned up a bit. With all the love of the world, Harry_

Maybe the last part was asking too much, but surely the letter would contain good news! Ginny smiled and reached for the letter. She shrieked, though, when the owl bit her hand. "Hedwig!" Ginny let out, frustrated. Hedwig fluttered onto Ginny's shoulder and gripped it gently with her menacing talons. She began to flap her wings, hard. Ginny shielded her faces from the beating wings and tried to dislodge the owl by running around the room. "Hedwig, you insane owl, what are you doing?" Hedwig screeched and flapped her wings harder.

There was a knock at Ginny's bedroom door, quickly followed by a concerned male voice, "Hey, Gin, are you all right?" Ginny was shocked when she heard Bill's voice so early in the morning. She stopped running and looked quickly out of the window that created a hole in her wall across the room. She guessed by the angle of the sun that it was about six o'clock in the morning. Bill had work; of course he was awake.

"I'm fine!" Ginny called, trying to hush the still-screeching owl on her shoulder.

"Yeah right!" Bill returned. Ginny dove at the door as she heard the handle turn. She didn't want Bill to know that Hedwig was here. She wanted to read the letter, alone, and first, savoring in the moment of joy of Harry coming home. The sudden movement finally shocked Hedwig into flying off of Ginny's shoulder and onto the windowsill. She hooted indignantly once before finally quieting down. Bill opened the door and looked wide-eyed at his sister who was inches from the now open door. He reached out his hands and caught her. "Ginny?" he asked, concern evident in his voice.

"I'm absolutely-" Ginny stopped talking abruptly when she saw Bill's eyes stare towards her window.

He hastily let go of Ginny and strode over to the snowy owl. "Hedwig!" he cried happily. He reached out for the letter but jerked his hand away when Hedwig snapped at his index finger. Bill set his jaw and quickly grabbed Hedwig. His large hands trapped the owl against his chest. He grunted as Hedwig struggled to get free. He roughly untied the letter from her leg and let her go. His eyes looked at the name on the outside of the roll of parchment and handed it to Ginny. "Read it," he instructed quietly.

Ginny nodded and mutely opened the letter. Her eyes scanned the short note quickly. This couldn't be right! She read it over again, her brown eyes filled with tears. This was nothing like what she had been expecting.

"What's the matter, Gin?" Bill asked nervously taking a step towards his younger sister.

"Oh, Bill!" she cried. Bill nervously patted her back when he found himself hugging the crying girl.

"What is it?" Bill asked, trying to soothe the girl in his arms. Ginny said nothing, but stepped away from him and handed the note. She watched with red eyes as her brother read the note. His face fell as he read the messy scrawl.

_Dear Ginny,_

_As I have no more use for her, Hedwig is now yours._

_Harry_

"What does he mean by she's yours?" Bill asked, bewildered. "Did you say something to him?"

"No!" Ginny said, horrified by her brother's unsaid accusations. She looked behind him and saw a flutter of movement. Hedwig was still sitting in her room, moving around anxiously.

"Why did he give you his owl then?" Bill asked, staring at the majestic bird.

"I don't know!" More tears sprang to the young woman's brown eyes.

"Well, Gin, I hate to leave you, but I really have to go to work. Those goblins hate tardiness. Write Harry back and tell him that you won't have Hedwig and that he has to come home." Bill spoke with a resoluteness that left Ginny no room for arguing, even if she had wanted to.

Ginny nodded her head morosely and hugged her brother. Bill left the room, looking back every few steps. Once he was nearly out of sight, he stopped. "Hey, if you want to talk, or just be near me, you're welcome at work, the goblins won't mind." His words were so full of concern Ginny almost couldn't stand it. She nodded her head, holding back even more tears. Bill turned around again and walked out of sight. Once she heard the pop of Bill aparating, Ginny sat at her desk and tried writing a note to Harry.

_Dear Harry,_

_I won't have Hedwig; she's your owl! So just come and get her!_

_LOVE,_

_Ginny_

Ginny looked at the few words she had written and crumpled the piece of parchment. It just didn't sound _right_. She sighed and decided that she needed to get out of the house. She slowly got dressed and trucked her wand into a pocket in her robes. She looked at the small table that sat next to her bed. Glinting invitingly on it was a dagger, Harry's dagger. She looked at it for a moment before grabbing it and carefully tucking it into a pocket in her robes. For some reason, she didn't want to leave it behind. She felt safer, closer to him, if she had it with her. She walked slowly down the stairs, doing her best to be quiet, so as not to wake anyone up. The silence was broken not long after she left her room though, by a screech that came from her room. Ginny looked around to see Hedwig fly out of her room. The owl grasped Ginny's robes with her powerful feet and tried to pull the girl towards the door that led to the living room. "Hedwig, I would really rather not use the floo network, I'm taking the Knight Bus," Ginny said, carefully stroking the owl, trying to quiet her. Hedwig abruptly let go of Ginny's robes and flew back to the girl's room. She came back out moments later. She hooted anxiously as she searched for Ginny. She found the girl outside, a few feet from the house. Ginny heard the hooting and turned to see the owl. "Hedwig, you're getting to be a pain," Ginny said. Hedwig ignored the comment and dropped something onto Ginny's head. "Ow! I didn't mean for that to be literal!" Ginny exclaimed when something small and hard hit her on the head. She rubbed her head gently where she could already feel a lump forming. She looked to the ground to see what it was. It was her Quidditch Captain badge. "Hedwig, I don't need to wear this to Diagon Alley!" Ginny growled and ran back inside to replace the badge on her desk. Hedwig followed Ginny and hooted as she landed on a thick envelope. It was the letter from Hogwarts. Ginny ignored the owl and quickly aparated outside. The moment she was outside, Ginny raised her wand hand, not long after that, there was a bang and a purple bus appeared in the front lawn. A few chickens clucked disapprovingly and ran away and a tree jump out of the way as the bus skidded to a halt in front of the red-haired girl. Ginny calmly got onto the bus and rolled her eyes as Hedwig flew out of the house carrying Ron's old prefect badge.

"Pretty owl you have there," an older boy said, smiling. Ginny looked up and returned the smile.

"Thanks, but she's not mine, she's...a friend's."

"Oh, well anyway, where are you heading?"

"Diagon Alley, please," Ginny said, still smiling. Something about the boy just made you smile. Not that Ginny found this to be a bad thing.

"My name's Erik by the way," he said, proffering his hand.

"Ginny," Ginny said, taking the offered hand happily. It was rough and calloused from what Ginny imagined was years of physical labor. Ginny let go of the hand reluctantly and sat down in the front seat so that she could continue talking to this boy, she wanted to talk to a friendly face that didn't keep shooting her worried glances.

"So, do you work in Diagon Alley? I've never seen you on this bus before," Erik said, looking at Ginny curiously.

"Oh, no, I just wanted to walk around a bit, maybe get some books," Ginny said shrugging.

"Would you mind some company?" Erik asked his ears turning an insipid shade of red.

"Are you going to be providing it?" Ginny asked playfully.

"Well...I mean...if you don't..." the boy started to stutter, his ears turning a more colorful hue of crimson.

"I'd like it very much," Ginny interrupted. Eric smiled gratefully and they fell into an easy conversation.

"Diagon Alley's the next stop," Erik said, looking out the windows to get his bearings. "We'll have to stop a minute in the pub while Sean takes my place." There was a loud bang and for the first time since she got onto the bus, Ginny was surprised by the lurch the bus gave as it changed location from a suburb Ginny was unfamiliar with to the streets of London near The Leaky Cauldron. Ginny toppled off of her seat and fell uncomfortably close to Erik. She blushed and quickly righted herself. Erik smiled encouragingly and led her off of the bus when it stopped in front of the small pub. He called a farewell to the driver and walked into the pub.

"Sean!" Erik called once they were inside. A young man, who looked to be a year or two older than Erik waved in greeting. He didn't say anything but walked outside and soon after, there was a bang as the Knight Bus left the area.

"Do you want a drink?" Erik offered.

"Oh no! It's...It's too early!" Ginny said. She didn't bother mentioning that not only was she too young but that her mother would have Ginny's head if she were ever to find out that her only daughter had so much as held a glass of firewhisky. The fact that Ginny was going to wander Diagon Alley with a complete stranger, who happened to be rather good looking, did not help Ginny's case.

"Okay, so where do you want to go?" Erik asked. He ran his hand through his brown hair.

"I don't know, let's just walk around," Ginny suggested, shrugging her shoulders. The pair walked through the pub and to the small garden in the back. His robe sleeve started to fall down his arm when he raised his left hand to tap a brick with his wand. He quickly pulled it so that it nearly covered his hand. He anxiously glanced over to Ginny to see if she had seen anything, but he breathed a sigh of relief when Ginny turned her head and smiled innocently at him. They happily walked through the archway that had appeared and walked down the street. It was still early, about eight o'clock and most of the shops either weren't open yet or were just opening. Ginny walked towards a fountain all the while talking with Erik. Once they reached the fountain. Ginny sat down on the edge and invited Erik to join her. They sat and talked, enjoying each other's company for a few minutes before the subject turned to The Battle.

"Did you read _The Prophet_ yesterday morning?" Erik asked tactfully. Ginny nodded her head, wondering where the conversation was going. "So how about Potter's disappearance." Ginny didn't need to ask what Potter he was talking about. She paled slightly at the name, but answered the man's question without a tremor in her voice.

"Yeah, I read about that. I wonder where he is?"

"I hear he's dead!" Erik said, an indefinable look crossing his strong face.

"Oh, I don't think he's dead," Ginny said carefully.

"Maybe he ran away with his girlfriend! _The Prophet_ mentioned her. What was her name? Gina?"

"He couldn't have done that!" Ginny said, laughing to herself the crazy rumors that were flying around.

"How do you know?" Erik challenged.

"A friend of a friend of mine knows Harry Potter," Ginny said. She didn't want people knowing that she was...is his girlfriend. She already got the pitying looks from friends and family; she didn't want them from strangers too.

"Oh," Erik said. "Do you think the Dark Lord is coming back?"

"No, Voldemort's dead," Ginny said matter-of-factly, suppressing a shudder as she remembered seeing the monster's bloody figure. Erik jerked when he heard Ginny say his name out loud, causing Ginny to roll her eyes.

"Erik!" The two people looked up at a voice that was familiar to both of them.

"Angelina!" Ginny called out happily. She waved her brother's girlfriend over.

Angelina ran over to the pair. "Ginny, your brothers are looking for you, they're in their shop," Angelina said to Ginny. Once Ginny ran across the quickly filling street into the shop marked "Weasely Wizarding Wheezes," Angelina turned to the boy that was a year younger than her. "Eric what are you doing here? I thought you had work today!"

"I just got off and I have another shift later," Eric said simply. He shrugged his broad shoulders and looked across the street to an unknown destination, his green eyes twinkling.

"What were you doing with Ginny?" Angelina asked, her brown eyes narrowing.

"She rode the Knight Bus here, and I asked her if she wanted to hang out." Eric looked to Angelina, confused. He stood up so that he could look Angelina in the eye. "Is that a problem?" His voice wasn't accusing, but Angelina couldn't help but feel that he was challenging her.

"She's a Weasely."

"I know, so is Fred." Erik's voice was cool. "If you can date a Weasely, I don't see why I can't hang out with one. Do you?" Erik looked into Angelina's eyes. He held her chin in his hand so that she couldn't turn away. His eyes pierced hers and Angelina found herself shifting her gaze.

"Well, no..."

"Angelina, come here!' She turned around when she heard Fred's voice.

"Coming!" Without a word to Erik, she ran across the now busy street. When she got inside the store, she was greeted by a big hug. She giggled and kissed Fred gently on his cheek.

"Oh quit it, you two!" Ginny said disgustedly.

"You okay now, Gin?" George asked, continuing his conversation with Ginny from before their interruption. "Bill had said you sounded really upset this morning." She had just told the twins about her strange morning. She hadn't been planning on it, but since Bill had taken it upon himself to tell the twins about Hedwig, she had to relate her side of the story.

"Yeah, I'm okay...now." Ginny sighed as she remembered the snowy owl chasing the Knight Bus before it disappeared.

"What do you think Hedwig wanted?" Fred asked, his arms sill wrapped around Angelina's waist.

"I don't know!" Ginny said. I came here just to think and be alone in a crowd, not to be questioned to the third-degree by my brothers!"

"It's okay, Ginny," Angelina said, reluctantly breaking away from Fred's embrace. She gave Ginny a big hug.

"Maybe she wanted you to go to Hogwarts," George said slowly.

"Why? I'm not due back until September first!" Ginny said.

"Well, why else would she drop all that Hogwarts stuff on you?"

"Fred, I don't really care!"

"Ginny, think about it," Fred said carefully. "Hedwig was Harry's owl, so-"

"Fred!" Ginny cried, interrupting her brother. She let out an anguished sound. She did her best to bite back the rush of tears that threatened to overwhelm her at Harry's name. The fact that Fred had said that Hedwig _was_ Harry's didn't help either. She rushed out of the store, hoping that no one would follow her.

"Ginny!" Ginny ignored Angelina's call and kept running. Ginny turned into a dark alleyway and stopped. She put her hands on her knees and breathed heavily. She collapsed to the ground sighing deeply. "Ginny!" Ginny turned to look at her friend with bright eyes. "Oh Ginny!" Angelina rushed over to her friend and embraced her. The two girls sat, hugging each other for quite a while before Ginny collected herself.

"I'm sorry Angelina, It's just...I wonder if Harry's ever coming back..." Ginny said quietly.

"It's okay, Gin, he'll be back," Angelina said reassuringly.

"Are you sure?" Ginny asked, allowing a hint of hope to enter her frail voice.

"Positive. Now let's get some ice cream," Angelina stood up and offered her hand to help Ginny up. Ginny took it and stood up. The younger girl ran her fingers through her hair and wiped at her eyes.

"Tell me the truth. Do I look horrible?" Ginny asked, smiling slightly.

"Yes," Angelina said, laughing at Ginny's knotted hair and tear stained face.

"Okay, just as long as I know," Ginny said, joining Angelina in a sad laugh. The two girls linked arms and headed to the local ice cream shop. They sat outside, enjoying the warm summer day. Angelina finished her dish of ice cream and pushed back her stool.

"Well, Ginny, I hate to leave, but Fred's probably waiting for me to get back to work." Angelina rooted in her pockets and placed a handful of galleons. "Ice cream is on me!"

"Okay, bye!" Ginny smiled, much happier than she had been before. The two friends shared a happy wave farewell. Angelina walked back to the joke shop, which was only a few doors down from Florean's Ice Cream.

Ginny reached into her pocket and pulled out the glinting dagger. She turned it over in her hands, watching the light play off of the gems that were inset in the handle. Ginny closed her eyes and let her mind wander to Harry.

_Harry walked around a corner, hugging the stone wall with his back. The walls were familiar to Ginny, but she couldn't place where they belonged. She heard a couple of voices talking and laughing. Harry tensed and ducked into a room behind him. _

Ginny jerked and opened her eyes. Well, at least Harry was alive in that dream. She blinked her eyes sleepily. She pushed her head off of the table it had been resting on. _I must be more tired than I thought,_ Ginny thought, rubbing her eyes. Seeing the dagger sitting on the table, Ginny gasped quietly and pocketed it quickly. It wouldn't look good if she was found walking around with a dagger, especially this soon after The Battle. She waved the waitress over and ordered another sundae. When it came, she ate it slowly, enjoying the hot fudge mixed with the cold strawberry ice cream. She was about halfway finished when a shadow fell over her table. She looked up hopefully. When it wasn't who she expected, Ginny's heart sank a notch or two, but she smiled brightly, at least this was a face should recognized. "Dean! Join me, would you?" The young man obliged and sat down across from Ginny.

"So, what have you been up to for the past two weeks?" Dean asked, taking the spoon Ginny was offering him.

"Oh..." Ginny was speechless.

Dean immediately saw what he had done wrong. He reached across the table and took her shaking hands between his own. "I'm sorry."

Ginny looked at Dean in his deep brown eyes. She took a deep breath before opening her mouth to speak. "Dean, can I talk to you?" Ginny asked, her voice shaking vaguely.

"Surely." Dean moved his chair around to the other side of the table so that he was sitting next to Ginny.

"It's Harry...He gave me his owl. He said he wouldn't need her again..." Tears brimmed in Ginny's light brown eyes. Dean took her into his strong arms and held her while she continued. "What if he's never coming back? What if he's dead?" Ginny asked fearfully. A few tears escaped her eyes and traced down her pale cheek.

"Give him time, he'll come home! After all, how could he stay away from your pretty face?" Dean touched her cheek gently. Ginny closed her eyes, sighed, and leaned her head against his shoulder. He pulled his robe sleeve over his hand and carefully wiped her tears with his sleeve. "Let's go sit somewhere else," Dean suggested. Ginny nodded her head silently.

Dean stood up and took Ginny's had. He led her over to the fountain that Ginny had sat at earlier that day. He sat on the ground and gently pulled her down to sit next to him. She leaned against him and closed her eyes. The sun beat gently on the pair as Ginny's breathing began to slow as she fell asleep.

Across the street, three people watched as Dean stroked Ginny's hair methodically. "What is he doing?" George asked angrily.

"Doesn't he know that Harry's her boyfriend?" Fred continued, seething.

"Guys, let Ginny be hugged by a guy for once," Angelina said, look fondly at the couple across the street.

"We hug her!"

"Every night!"

"No, I mean by a guy that's not family!" Angelina said exasperatedly.

"But Algae, Ginny..." Fred began. He stopped however when Angelina gave him a pleading look.

"Fred, hold strong, mate!" George said, shaking his brother.

"Oh, George, let Ginny have a moment!" Fred said.

"Good boy!" Angelina said, laughing, while she patted him on the top of his head. She smiled and kissed Fred on the cheek. Fred grinned and took Angelina into his arms. He wrapped a strand of her hair around his index finger and let it go. She smiled and leaned into his chest.

"Oh, you two disgust me!" George exclaimed. Fred chuckled and kissed Angelina passionately. George hurried into the stockroom, grateful for the chance to get away from Fred and Angelina, or as Fred called her, Algae.

A few seconds later, Fred pushed the curtain that blocked the stockroom aside and entered, blushing slightly. "Sorry, mate," Fred said. "But I really do think that Ginny deserves a few minutes alone with some guy. Someone who won't run away, leaving her alone and heartbroken," he spoke the last words bitterly. "She seemed so happy with Dean. Harry's _disappearance_ has been horrible for her, give her time."

"Okay, I guess I see what you're saying. But don't be so rough on Harry, he's had a lot to deal with." George said, deciding to go with the flow.

"Fred, George! Get out here and change me back to normal...NOW!" Fred and George looked at each other at Angelina's call. They smirked and walked out of the stockroom to find Angelina covered in yellow feathers.

"So, you found the Canary Creams?" George asked, allowing a smile to rule over his face.

"Fred, change me back!" Angelina simpered. George reached out and stopped Fred from giving Angelina the antidote.

"No, no, no Fred, bad boy," George smiled teasingly.

"George, why must you keep those things lying around for customers to eat?" Angelina asked exasperatedly.

"Because it's fun to watch them sprout feathers!" George replied. "Besides, it's not just me, you realize? Fred's the one who suggested we put out Canary Creams instead of normal food!"

"George, come on! Change me back!" Angelina pleaded.

"Oh, fine!" George said, laughing. He lazily flicked his was and Angelina's feathers slowly melted together leaving her smooth chocolate skin behind. The trio spent the rest of their day happily playing jokes on each other, every now and hen selling product to a customer with yellow feathers. Ginny and Dean were quickly banished from their minds.

**AN:** I am very sorry it took me so long to get this chapter out there. I had it all typed up, but before I could edit it, my computer died. So then I had to edit it, retype it, edit it again...and now it's now... Well I hope you enjoyed it! Claps It was my longest one yet (and while I was rewriting it...it grew by a page and a half! (just a fast fact you all wanted to know))

Response to Reviews: Wow, I love each and every one of you.

To those who reviewed chapters previous to chapter seven, thank you very much, I do pay attention to you too; I just don't have space to reply to you guys individually. If you have a pressing question or a suggestion that needs attention, that you would like a reply to, just put an asterisk () next to it, and I will be sure to reply. (Honest, I read them no matter what though)

The Female Nerd- CoNgRaTs! yOu ArE tHe **60th **ReViEwEr! Thank you and to all those who made this wonderful moment possible. thanks for reading!

Ketta dragontamer- well...you'll find out if Harry or Giolla is dead soon, very soon.

LaxGoalie- how was it confusing? I can clarify things, if you tell me what needs to be clarified.

Phyre's child13- I'm glad you got your cookie :) and I'm also very glad you liked my chapter! sorry it took so long to update

LOTZAstuffINmyHead- sorry it took so long! I'm glad you thought it was good!

Sexi Silver- CONGRATS! YOU ARE THE FIRST REVIEWER TO CHAPTER 7! it was definitely a hallmark moment:) I hope this wasn't too long for you. I'm glad you could see how lonely Harry was getting! and I'm glad you liked the chapter!


	9. Chapter 9

_"AVADA KADAVRA!" Three years of pain and hate were contained in those two powerful words. Never before had Harry wanted to kill so badly as then. Everything about the woman in front of him instilled a pure hate in Harry. He had been Harry's last irrational Marauder. Remus was their best friend, but his eyes didn't twinkle any more, his face didn't light up with boyish joy at the memories. Sirius was going to be his home, and this woman took that away from Harry. He could not rest until she was put to rest. A jet of blinding green light streaked from the wooden rod. Its brightness and speed showed Harry's loathing more than words could ever express. Harry's heart beat quickly, and his breath rasped to a fast beat. Three years of suffering finally expelled, he smiled wildly, thrilled that he could put Sirius' memory to peaceful rest. Finally, he had avenged his dad's friend's spirit. Soon, he would avenge his father's and maybe Harry would be able to sleep at night again. Harry's smile quickly vanished though, when he saw, in slow motion, Bellatrix duck and laugh. He watched, horrified, as the green light sailed past her back, rippling her robes in its wake. Harry opened his mouth to shout a warning. Maybe the beam would strike down a Death Eater. Before Harry could gather enough breath in his burning lungs to shout, he watched a flash from a camera and a young man fall to the ground, camera still posed for the last shot. _

_Harry walked up to the boy that still held the old camera. The camera was pulled up to the young man's blue eyes, one was squinted shut while the other peered intensely through the viewfinder. Harry knelt next to the boy and slowly pried the camera from the cold fingers. Several times, Harry had to pause to gather his resolution. This boy was dead because of him. He would never know the joys of being out of school. He would never feel the touch of a loving woman. Harry sighed heavily, the single exhalation was weighed down with the loss of a million hopes and dreams, with the loss of a wonderful boy, with the pain of everyone who loved him, and with the pain of knowledge, knowledge that he, Harry, had done all those things. He had extinguished a million hopes and dreams, he had lost a wonderful boy, he caused many unbearable pain, pain that he knew, all because he was vengeful. Harry finished gathering the camera into his hands. He stood up slowly. When he looked back down to the boy to apologize, though nothing Harry could say could replace what he had taken away, he saw something wrong with the scene. Harry slipped the neck strap of the camera around his neck and knelt back to the cold ground. He gently configured Colin's body so that his arms were peacefully crossed over his chest, his palms gently resting on his shoulders. Harry swept his fingers over the startling blue eyes and closed the eyelids for the last time. Harry closed his eyes and stood up and walked into the descending fog._

Harry opened his eyes and looked around him groggily. His cheeks were salty with old tears, tears that were shed over the night. At least he was still alive. He tried to see where he was, but it was dark and the canopy of trees blocked out the moonlight above. The scenes of the night before floated into his mind. _Giolla,_ he whispered, remorse dripping from his crackly voice. Even though she had been strangling him, Harry couldn't imagine the thought that he had killed another being.

W_hat is it Harry?_ Harry sat up suddenly and jerked his head around, looking for the snake.

_I thought you were dead!_ Harry slowly let his heart rise, savoring the idea that he wasn't alone in this dense forest. He kept his eyes searching the ground around him, anxiously looking for a sign of the snake.

_Of course not! It takes more than a weak boy to kill me, begging your pardon sir. I merely fell asleep._

_Look, Giolla, I'm sorry. But really, I trust Hedwig a lot more than I trust you. _Harry's eyes darted to the trees above him. _Hedwig!_ He cried out. Then, he realized that he had talked in parseltongue. "Hedwig!" he called out, abandoning his search for the ancient serpent.

_She's gone,_ Giolla stated simply.

_What did you do to her?_ Harry asked, anger flowing in his veins like a burning fire.

_I did nothing. She left._ Giolla said. She slithered out of a nearby bush and Harry started at the sudden motion.

_Where did she go?_ Harry demanded. He quickly stood up so that he towered over the snake. Being at eye-level with his greatest enemy's pet didn't seem very safe to Harry. No matter how many times she denied it, Harry could never forget her involvement in Voldemort's terror. She had, after all, carried a piece of his soul for years. Harry still wasn't sure if he had destroyed the horcrux that had resided in her body. Had he just killed Voldemort's body again?

_I don't know. Probably to your dear little Ginny,_ Giolla said.

_Who's Ginny?_ Harry asked, doing his best to feign confusedness.

_That won't work on me Potter! I know more about you than even you may know!_ Harry shivered at the snake's words. The pure evil that had flown out of her and into the air was nearly more than Harry could bear. His scar throbbed.He bit his tongue to stop himself from crying out. He hadn't felt any pain from his scar after he had killed Voldemort, but ever since Giolla...Harry shook his head. She was just a really old snake. _Get some sleep Harry. Morning will come soon, and you will be wanting to go see Ginny!_ Giolla's voice was hypnotizing. Harry started to lie down on the ground.

_NO!_ Harry shouted. He jerked back into a standing position. _No, I won't be sleeping until you and I settle our...differences. For one thing, we need to have you scanned and bound, as agreed in the beginning. For another, I need to know why Hedwig attacked you._ Harry began pacing. His mind entertained many ideas, but most of them were quickly dismissed.

_As for the first, I can say nothing. And as for the second, that insufferable know-it-all bird attacked me merely because I am who I am._

_And who are you?_

_I am Giolla creation of Salazar Slytherin and confrere of Master Harry James Potter._

_You are no sister of mine!_ Harry shouted at the indignation of being called an equal by a serpent.

_You speak my language, do you not?_

_Not by birth._

_Not by birth, but by fate. Sometimes, fate is stronger than birth._

_But not all the time._

_You told me not to call you Master, did you not?_

_I did, but..._

_No buts, brother._

_I thought you had to serve?_ Harry asked.

_I do, but who says I can't have free speech too?_

_And if I do?_ Harry asked, thinking that maybe he could finally get this snake to be quiet and possibly even stop choking him everyday.

_Then that is one order I cannot obey. Salazar so wishes it._ Harry sighed. Harry said nothing, but walked from the scene. _Where are you going Harry?_

_I need to get some air,_ Harry said automatically.

_But we are outside,_ Giolla said needlessly. Harry ignored the snake and kept walking. Giolla kept quiet, but silently followed Harry. After a few minutes of wandering in circles, Harry finally strayed from the path. The pair came upon a small pond in the middle of a clearing. A slight breeze played at his hair, but wasn't strong enough to move it across his disfigured face. Harry looked at it from afar and watched the small ripples in the silver orb that swam in the pond. Harry's green eyes floated to the sky above him. It was a full moon. Remus would have transformed tonight, he thought idly. Harry's eyes filled with tears as he thought of his father's last friend. Was he still alive? Harry had seen the man's sweat soaked body in amongst the many others while Harry had tied the Death Eaters, but he was too scared to see if the man lived. Harry slowly walked toward the pond, an irresistible force pulling him. The wind died down, though Harry never noticed. His mind was too entranced by the small circle of mirroring water. His feet touched the edge of the water, sinking into the mud. Slowly, Harry lowered himself onto his knees. Green eyes slowly came into focus in the still water, Harry's eyes. He tried to see his mother's eyes in them, but the eyes were no longer similar. He remembered the picture Hagrid had given him as if the picture were in front of him now.

There were two adults, one man and one woman, with a baby in the woman's bare arms. His mother's smiling green eyes seemed to be laughing at a joke the photographer had told. The bright eyes seemed to have a life of their own as they danced in the afternoon sun. Her robe was sleeveless and the color of the sea, a light blue-green with small rhinestones decorating the hem. Her red hair glinted in the sun, its color matching the color of the leaves in the tree behind the young family. It was obviously mid-autumn in the picture. A few leaves floated in the wind, chasing each other on the breeze. The woman's hair waved gently with the leaves, as if longing to play with them, but sadly attached to the beautiful woman's head. Next to her stood a tall man. His shoulders were squared proudly and one robed arm was loosely draped over the woman's shoulder. The deep green of the loose robe contrasted with his wife's hair and robe, but somehow it seemed to be the perfect color for the day. His smile was enchanting. His straight white teeth flashed between his smooth, glowing lips. His hazel eyes were depthless, though the top layer held laughter. At first glance they seemed to be an ugly brown, but when looked at again, there were flecks of green and brown and even a few gray. His eyes were mainly a golden amber that matched the leaves on the maple trees. However, there were flecks of a springtime green scattered around the dark pupil that were set off by James' flowing robe and a speckle of gray here and there. His black hair looked as if he had just been riding a broomstick. It was swept back mainly, except for a rogue lock that fell down his forehead. The hair was short, but not short enough for his wife to keep it under control. Between his hazel eyes and his snow-white teeth was a straight nose. Overall the face was unmarred. Every crease and line showed the man's life of laughter. Neither one of the couple seemed to have a care in the world. The babe in the woman's arm yawned and smiled happily, reaching up to grasp his mother's baby-soft hair. The man's eyes occasionally flitted from his wife, to his son, and back again.

Harry shook opened his eyes and felt a tear run down his cheek. It hit his robe and left a spot of dark burgundy amongst the rest of the claret cloth Harry was wearing. Harry looked back to the face that was mirrored in the pond. The green eyes held no simple pleasure like his mother's had. One eye had a pink line that ran above it, a line that shone in firelight and pulled tight when Harry closed his eyes. His eyes slowly drifted over the rest of his own facial features. "What have I become?" Harry asked himself. There was a long, dark, line that ran down the right side of his face. Clotted blood roughened the surface around it. His face seemed lopsided; the gash on his cheek seemed to have taken away the fullness of his cheek. The nose had a small chunk missing from it, his lips were chapped and rough, his smile didn't reach his eyes, and his hair was long and matted with twigs, mud, and blood. His skin was pale and sunken. Dark circles haunted the area under his eyes. Harry searched futilely for a resemblance to his family.

_You look just like James, except for the eyes; you have Lily's eyes._ The words rang in Harry's mind, mocking him.

"Well, I don't look like them now!" Harry said loudly. He abruptly reached his hand into the water and splashed it, breaking up the horrible image that was his face. He stood up, anger flashing in his dull green eyes. Harry wanted to take revenge on the one who had done this to him, the one who had taken his family away from him, the one who had taken away his carefree childhood, the one who had marred him beyond recognition. But that man was dead. Harry pulled his wand out of his robes and aimed it at a bush. His movements were rough and tremulous. His muscles were tense, as if when touched they would snap. "Incendio!" he shouted into the still air. The bush burst into flames. Harry spun around and made a slashing gesture with his wand. Suddenly, a sapling cracked and fell to the ground. He saw a shadow in a bush.

_Giolla!_ he said sharply in parseltongue. When the snake slithered cautiously out of the bush, Harry pointed his wand at the green serpent and made a jerky movement. Before Giolla could react, she found herself zooming away from Harry, going uncomfortably close to several trees._ Go!_ Harry shouted. _I don't want to see you ever again!_

_Harry, think about what you're saying! _Giolla pleaded as another tree flew past frighteningly close. Giolla hissed in alarm as suddenly she was dropped to the ground. A sharp pain coursed through the middle of her long body as she landed on a small stone, but it was insignificant to her. Harry fell to the ground, sobbing.

"What am I!" Harry cried out to the night. There was a crack and an ember from the burning bush landed on Harry's face. Harry ignored it as it seared his skin. He deserved the pain. He was a monster. Harry's breath came in ragged bursts. Giolla started to slither warily over to her master, but thought better of it when Harry looked up at her, shooting daggers at her with his eyes. Giolla turned around and glided into the forest giving Harry some time alone. Harry looked back to the ground. Even evil serpents were scared of him. "Dad..." Harry said quietly. He put his head into his hands and closed his eyes.

Harry remained motionless as he tried to remember his parents. Unfortunately, no memories other than the one with blinding green light and the screaming could be recovered. Harry wished that he had gone back to Grimmauld place to grab his treasured photo album before he had set up camp. "I suppose I could get it..." Harry said. His voice was thick and quiet. "No," he quickly decided. "I decided I was never going back, never." Harry stood up and straightened his back. His eyes were a little red, but no tears came. _Giolla,_ Harry called into the night. He knew the snake was nearby; he could feel her presence.

_Yes, Harry,_ Giolla said. Harry didn't bother to try to find the snake. He continued to look at the ground, still ashamed of his own appearance.

_I'm sorry,_ Harry started. He stopped briefly as he gathered his courage to say what he had been thinking ever since Giolla had made her presence known a few days ago.

_Harry?_ Giolla asked, concern in her voice. Harry felt a pang in his gut as he was reminded of Mrs. Weasely's kind words. She had always been concerned for him. Harry had liked having the maternal figure to welcome him home from Hogwarts, to cry when he left for another year of school. Harry bent his head and covered his face with his hands again. _Harry, are you okay?_ Giolla asked. He heard a rustle of leaves as the serpent slithered closer to the boy.

Harry took a deep breath and removed his hands from his face. His dull eyes looked at the snake. _I'm fine,_ he muttered. _Were you always with Tom?_ Harry asked, looking up briefly to the green and silver snake.

_Yes, ever since my previous master died._

_And when was that?_ Harry asked, his eyes still reflexively studying the leaf-strewn ground in front of them. It wasn't autumn, yet; the leaves were from years past.

_Before he killed your parents,_ Giolla said, guessing Harry's reason for asking all this information.

Harry looked up sharply. _Were you there?_

Giolla shifted under Harry's intense gaze. There was no way out of such a pointed question. _Yes._ That was all she said.

Harry stared at the serpent in a new light. He took half a step back. Hate mingled with fear quickly flared up in his eyes. His mouth opened, as if he was going to ask another question, but nothing came out. _Tell me,_ he finally said. _Tell me about what happened._

_Perhaps that is a story for another day, one when you're not so upset to begin with,_ Giolla suggested.

_No, I want to know now._ Harry's voice was quiet. He spoke slowly as if it was taking all of his self-discipline to ask for the one thing he didn't think he really wanted to hear. Giolla tapped her mouth lightly with the tip of her tail, pondering where to start.

_Well as you know, I held a piece of the Dark Lord's soul, but he still wanted to keep me close. I followed him everywhere. One day, while I was napping in front of our fire, a man came into the room and told Master about a prophecy about a child that would be able to destroy him. Master wasn't happy, as I'm sure you can imagine. Immediately, he began to try and find this child. _

_How did he know it was I?_ Harry asked, interrupting the story. _Why didn't he go after Neville Longbottom?_

_I don't know, Harry, I am sorry._

_But you said you were always with Tom!_ Harry cried out, frustrated.

_Yes, but I was simply not interested. How was I supposed to know that I would have a good master?_

_Whatever, tell me what happened on Halloween,_ Harry said, longing to find out once and for all what had happened when his father and mother had died. He had heard taunting stories from Voldemort saying that they begged for their lives, but he didn't believe those stories. Finally, Harry would get to hear the truth.

_Well, Master had intelligence that the Potter's were in hiding. The Secret Keeper came to him and told him of their whereabouts. That night, Master went to the house. Inside he found the couple eating dinner. The man immediately jumped up and shielded the woman. He told her to take 'Harry' and run. He tried to take out his wand to battle the Dark Lord, but he wasn't quick enough. Master killed him using the unforgivable curse. The woman screamed and covered you with herself. She didn't beg, When Master told her to move, she refused and tried to disarm the Dark Lord. This made him angry and he killed her. The baby started to cry and the Dark Lord took a moment to revel in his triumph. He then tried to kill you. There was a blinding green light and I fell unconscious. When I woke up, the house was tumbled down. I could hear the baby cry in the still night, but I felt my master's spirit calling me away. So I left the house, leaving the baby alone in the crumbling house. That is all I can tell you Harry._ Giolla closed her eyes.

_Thank you,_ Harry said slowly. He looked at the serpent long and hard, trying to figure out what she wasn't saying. After a few moments though, he gave up. He looked at the pond one last time, though he couldn't see his reflection. Harry turned around and walked back to the small clearing where he kept his camp. In the morning he would figure out what he was going to do with the rest of his life. After all, how long could he sit and watch grass grow in a dark forest?

**AN:** Well there's one more chapter, I'm sorry it took so long, but my life has been ridiculous...like meals have been optional for over a week...practicing my flute has been out of the question, and sleep is a luxury, plus its the end of the nine weeks at school, so teachers are scrambling to get grades in...so yeah, enough of my venting on the people I adore, that's right, you the people who read my story (especially those of you who review!). So anyways, there's another chapter, if it's horrible, let me know please, if you liked it, let me know, and anything in between let me know. Oh and if you review my stories, I make it a point to check out your stories. Often times, I'll read several stories (time permitting) so, reviewing gets you stuff too! (In addition to my adoration :p) Oh, and fyi- I will not begin to write chapter 10 until the play I am working on (why I have no time to breathe) is over. Don't worry that's only a week from now...despite the fact that I'm sooo not ready for it...ok, I am honestly done venting now.

Response to Reviews: Wow, ten for one chapter! No, it's not a personal record, but it's still an awesome number! Let's go for thirteen this chapter! WOOT!

Ketta dragontamer- CoNgRaTs YoU aRe ThE 70 rEvIeWeR tO mY sToRy! YoU aRe An AmAzInG pErSoN! Thank you to you and to all those who made this kodak moment possible! Is my mysterious nature a good thing? I hope so... anyways, maybe Dean will be, maybe he won't be more of a comfort, all I'll say is that he comes back in another chapter. And honestly, I know when Harry's coming back, and no, I won't tell you, I'm making you wait...I know, how horrible of me, I'm sorry...

Selene 147- I'm glad you like my story! I don't suppose I happen to be one of those "brilliant authors" you speak of... wink, wink, nudge, nudge and it's okay that it's a short review, it tells me you like my story and that you took the time to say so, that means a lot to me.

LaxGoalie- I'm glad you like it, and (obviously) I updated

liz- yeah, well actually, no I didn't notice, but I went back and changed it on my comp, but I didn't change it on the internet, you'll just have to deal with it for now...fyi- it's supposed to be Erik. And yes, I know Algae is on strange pet name, but it I liked it, and that's all that matters, lol, jk...I just needed a pet name with a joking aura, and it fit.

Wytil- umm, yeah, I'm not sure what you're talking about there...

The Female Nerd- hey, I get very excited that you were the 60th reviewer, you should be excited too! And as for Ginny's little relationship thing...that will be revealed in upcoming chapters. And I'm not saying anything about guilt on her part, that too will be revealed in later chapters...hahaha, I'm so evil! (lol, not really, but I'm sleep deprived, so my mind's a little...off)

LOTZAstuffINmyHead- I'm really sorry Sez that it took me so long to update, but like I said, life's crazy now. Once I get back into a simpler schedule, updates will be more regular, honest. I'm glad you liked my chapter!

Hallmark Lady!- Gee, Caleb, who on earth is "Hallmark Lady" lol, jk. This chapter was a little shorter, sorry, but I'll try to keep them all about the length of this one or chapter 8. Thanks. And I'm glad you like my story. As I said above, I know when Harry's coming home, and I'm not telling you, so you'll have to be patient! (or check out my oneshot called The New Day in the mean time! (drop a review...please!)

CrazyCarlSoF- Yeah, I know it was emotionless, but I just wanted to get a chapter up, I didn't really pause to add such things, sorry, I'll try to make it better. And as for Ginny, her situation will unfold in later chapters...no worries, mate! And I'm glad you thin my story's going great so far!

Phyre's child13- CONGRATS! YOU'RE THE FIRST REVIEWER OF CHAPTER 8! YOUR DEDICATION IS LOVED! I'm glad you liked my chapter, I'm sorry for the wait for this one too...I must seem like a horrible author, just please give me a chance to rectify my ways! yeah, once again, Eric/k is supposed to be Erik, that was an editing mistake, sorry. And I agree with you, Harry's an idiot for pushing everyone away! Yeah, I needed to add in Fred and George, I'm glad there was comic relief with them. It had been expressed that I needed some of that, so your recognition of that made me happy!


	10. Chapter 10

"Ginny, where are you going?" the girl's mother asked as Ginny left the living room.

"Just going to Diagon Alley to get some air. Don't worry, I'll check in with Fred and George every now and then!" Ginny called over her shoulder. She walked outside into the cool morning air. The sun had only been up for a few minutes, and the world looked brand new with a touch of fog obscuring the view.

"Ron, why don't you go with your sister?" the plump woman suggested. A gangly teenager looked up at her with sullen eyes. "Oh, don't give me that look. You have to find a job sooner or later." Ginny turned around and walked back into the living room. If she hadn't she surely would have been yelled at for being rude to her brother.

"Harry and I were going to be Aurors together. We promised each other we'd go into training together," Ron said with a raspy voice. Mrs. Weasely's smile faded at the boy's name. Ginny set her jaw and refused to let a tear escape her eyes.

"Come on now!" Mrs. Weasely said, her voice unnaturally high-pitched. "You'll be much happier if you keep busy. You know he's not dead, so there's no use mourning over him now."

"It's not just Harry," Ron said, his eyes looking at the pictures of the family that graced the mantle on top of the fireplace. His eyes stayed on one in which Charlie had taught Ron how to fly on a broomstick. Mrs. Weasely eyed the picture. Her emotions were unreadable. She reached toward it as if she was going to grab it, but stopped halfway there.

"He wouldn't want you to be so miserable, either one of them," Mrs. Weasely said, pulling back her hand. "Ginny, tell your brother to go to Diagon Alley with you," Mrs. Weasely commanded the girl.

"Ron?" Ginny asked, an unsaid invitation hung in the air as Ron looked at his sister.

"Fine, but we're not staying long," Ron said. He stood up. He bowed his head and slumped his shoulders and followed Ginny out to the front yard, scattering chickens as they went.

Ginny flagged down the bus and led Ron up to the door that opened in front of them.

"Back again are you?" Erik asked the girl that climbed onto the bus. The girl smiled at him and nodded.

"Are you working today?" she asked.

"Yeah, but it won't be too much longer. Do you want to meet together for lunch?" he offered. Ginny looked back to her brother. He didn't seem to be paying attention. "Sure."

Mrs. Weasely stared at the spot where the bus had disappeared. Her eyes filled with tears. "Why Harry? Why must you plague my family so?" she asked the air. She shook her head sadly and walked back into the house.

"Hey, Gin, who was that guy?" Ron asked. His eyes were staring at the ground, unable to look at his sister. She wouldn't give up on Harry that easily, would she?

"Oh, just a guy I hung out with last time I was here. Angelina knows him, don't worry," Ginny said, quelling her brother's fears before he got a chance to voice them out loud. "What do you say we go say 'hi' to Fred and George first. Then we can walk about," Ginny suggested, lightly changing subjects.

"That works." Ron looked to be the picture of dejection. He and Harry had made elaborate plans when they had gone into the final battles. They were going to go into Auror training; and they were going to get a flat together until they could afford their own homes. They had even decided what their first meal would be after The Battle. It had been for that that Ron had refused to eat for days after the Battle. He kept saying that Harry would be back and that they were going to share their feast with each other, but Harry had stayed away and Ron had finally resolved himself to a life without his famous best friend, and it wasn't at all pleasant.

Ginny sighed when she looked at Ron. Before Harry's disappearance, he would have been jumping down her throat about this older boy, but not now. It didn't seem like Ron could care less and he didn't even bother to ask the boy's name. _Why Harry? Why couldn't you just come home with the rest of us?_ Ginny asked herself.

"Hey Ron! Look at that funny looking witch!" Ginny whispered, giggling uncontrollably in Ron's ear. It was one of their favorite pastimes when riding the Knight Bus. Mrs. Weasely chastised them for being so rude every time, but it was still fun.

Ron looked uninterestedly at the witch with a veil over her face. "It's not nice to laugh at hags," he said. Ginny scowled at her brother and fell back into her seat.

"Ron, he'll come back eventually. Until then we might as well have fun," Ginny said exasperatedly.

"Ginny, I'm surprised that you of all people can say that so soon!" Ron said in a pained voice. "Although, you have been keeping the local guys busy!"

"What are you talking about Ron?" Ginny yelled. A few fellow passengers looked at the brother and sister. The low murmur of multiple conversations stopped suddenly and there was a ringing silence except for the quiet roar of the engine.

"Fred and George told me about yesterday! Don't deny it! First you got off of the bus, and you weren't alone like you told Mum, you were flirting with that guy, Erik! Then thirty seconds after you were batting your eyes at him, you and Dean wouldn't stop cuddling! I thought that you of all people would miss Harry! I thought you would feel horrible! I never in a million years thought I'd see you flirt with both your ex-boyfriend and some new guy that's two years older than you in the same day! Especially not two weeks after Harry disappeared. What happened to those promises you made to each other? Huh? What about that 'I love you' crap? If you love him then why did you forget about him so soon?" Ron stopped shouting and started breathing heavily. For the first time since last night's dinner when Fred and George had told him all this, Ron looked at Ginny in the eyes. Ginny's jaw dropped and she tried to think of something to say. How could they know all that?

"Fred and George," she said quietly, as if she was talking to herself.

"Would like to explain your actions? It's no wonder Harry won't come home! Why would he want to come home to find his girlfriend snogging every guy on the street?" Ron still shouted. His eyes blazed.

"Ron!" Ginny shouted back. How could he accuse her of keeping Harry away? "First of all nothing happened with Dean and I! We're just FRIENDS! And with Erik? He just so happens to be a nice guy!" Ginny's eyes flashed, how dare Ron accuse her of such things! Erik turned around in his seat at the front of the bus. He blushed slightly as Ginny continued to explain how he was a nice guy. "And do you think I forgot about Harry? His stupid owl is sitting in my room as we speak! And I do love him! But he obviously doesn't love me! Consider me dumped!" Ginny stopped yelling and tears began to form at her eyes. She glared at Ron who was looking back at her, flabbergasted. Furiously, she wiped the tears away. Just at that moment, the bus appeared in front of a small dingy pub. She stood up and got off the bus, her angry aura pushing everyone away from her. She paused briefly at the front of the bus and turned to Erik. "Lunch?" she asked quietly. He nodded his head once. He needed to talk to her, if only to figure out why she had been yelling at her brother about Harry. Were they talking about Potter?

After a shocked moment, Ron stood up and rushed after his sister. There was a bang and the bus was gone once more. Ginny wheeled around inside the pub. She glowered at her brother. "Don't follow me." Her voice was quiet and deadly. Ron stopped in his tracks and watched mutely as Ginny walked out of the pub and into the small garden in the back.

Ginny looked around herself once she was in Diagon Alley. Once more she had beaten the crowd. She walked purposely to the bookstore. At least in there she would be sure to find a quiet place to be alone.

The bell tinkled above her as she opened the door. She walked quietly over a corner that was hidden from view by a large stack of books. She read the titles on the spines. There was no organization. The books didn't even seem to be on the same subject. A small sign on top of the books answered her question though. This was the sale area. Every book was a used book and for sale for half price. She sat down in the corner and held her head in her hands. Was Ron right? Was she pushing Harry away?

"Hey you," a soft voice said to the top of Ginny's head. She looked up. It was Dean. "What's the matter?" he asked. His voice was full of compassion.

"Nothing," she said stubbornly and turned away from Dean.

"Nothing doesn't usually bring tears to a pretty girl's face," he said quietly as he traced the track of a tear with his thumb. He kneeled down beside her. "Talk to me," he ordered calmly.

"Am I pushing Harry away?" she asked, looking at the ground.

"What made you think that?" Dean asked sharply.

"Ron said that Harry wasn't coming home because of what I did yesterday."

"I only held you so that you could get some sleep for a change!" Dean said, surprised that Ron would think that that was so bad.

"I also kind of hung out with this kid named Erik," Ginny said morosely.

"Did you kiss him?" Dean asked carefully.

"No, we just talked."

"Then quit worrying. You're allowed to have other friends that are guys!"

"I don't know. What if Harry's staying away because of me?" Ginny asked, wringing her hands.

"Well then I'm going to pummel him for making your life so miserable!" Dean said furiously.

"I have brothers to do that," Ginny smiled.

"Seriously, Ginny," Dean said, pulling Ginny closer to him. "Harry's had plenty of time to recuperate from The Battle. He needs to come home and either say it to everyone's face that he's done with us or get on his knees and grovel for forgiveness. He's making so many people miserable by being so selfish. When he gets home, I am going to pound him for giving you a look in your eyes that doesn't belong in a sixteen-year-old's eye."

"Dean, don't," Ginny said.

"Ginny…are you or are you not miserable?"

"Well…maybe a little," Ginny confessed.

"A little is too much. You have too much on your plate as it is! You're going into seventh year, N.E.W.T.s year, you're quidditch captain, and you're only sixteen! You should be having fun before you have to work for a living next year!"

"But…" Ginny started to protest, to say that it wasn't Harry's fault for staying away so long, but Dean hushed her by placing his index finger on her lips.

"Hush," he whispered. He leaned in closer to her. He closed his eyes and kissed her. When he pulled away, Ginny looked at him with a pained expression. She touched her cheek tenderly where he had kissed her.

"Dean…Harry…" she said.

"He's not the only one that loves you," Dean said quietly.

"But Harry…"

"Shh, Gin, that was just between friends. You're like the sister I never had," he said, combing his fingers through her hair.

"And you're like the brother I don't need," Ginny said, joking, as she gently took his hand from her hair.

"Are you okay now?" he asked her as she stood up.

"Yeah, thanks, now I've got to go make things right with Erik," she said.

"Remember what I said. If Harry doesn't grovel for your forgiveness and just expects you to love him like you did before, then you deserve better."

Ginny nodded her head in recognition before ambling out of the bookstore. She touched her cheek again. It had been so long since anyone had kissed her. Harry had put all of his energy into getting ready to defeat Voldemort; he had barely even held her hand. Ron had only awkwardly hugged her when Harry had not come home, and Mrs. Weasely hadn't so much as touched Ginny since after The Battle. Ginny guessed it was because seeing her reminded Mrs. Weasely of the lack of Harry. The twins hugged her goodnight every night, but it just wasn't the same. Those hugs were automatic and held no emotion. Dean's kiss had been nice. Somehow, Dean had managed to fill the short peck with a brotherly love she hadn't felt in ages. She smiled when she saw Erik walking towards the fountain where they had sat the day before.

"Erik!" she called out. He turned around. When he saw her, he stopped walking. Ginny tried to read his facial expression, but she couldn't understand it. She ran up to him.

"When were you going to tell me?" he asked coldly.

Ginny stared, taken aback by his hostility. "Tell you what?" she asked, stammering slightly.

"About Harry! Why didn't you tell me that you have a boyfriend, let alone _the_ Harry?"

"You heard," she said quietly, hanging her head.

"Everyone within five miles heard you!" Erik said, throwing his hands up into the air.

"I…" Ginny tried to explain, but couldn't find the words. She looked at him, silently begging him to understand.

"Let's just get some lunch," he said. He reached out and took her hand. She looked dumbly at the joined hands. He started walking towards the pub and she followed him silently. When they were about halfway there, he stopped abruptly and turned to face her. "Did you mean everything you said?" he asked quietly, looking intently into her brown eyes. "Do you honestly think he doesn't love you anymore?" Ginny looked at the ground as tears filled her eyes. He grabbed her chin with his large hands and forced her to look into his eyes. His expression softened when he saw the tears, though.

"If he loved me, he would have come home by now!" Ginny cried, the tears overflowing her eyes and spilling onto her cheeks. Erik wrapped his arms around her and kissed her soundly on the lips. Ginny returned the kiss, but before long, she pulled away. She pulled herself away from his grasp. "I can't…" she gasped. "I can't do this to Harry."

"Why are you so faithful to him?" Erik said. He tried to reach out and pull her into his arms again, but she spun away. "You said so yourself, why would he still be away if he loved you?" He took a step closer to Ginny and grabbed her hands. She tried to pull them free, but he was stronger than she was. "You said to consider you dumped, well you're not acting like you think you're dumped. If Harry really loves you, then he'll be chasing you down. He'd be ready to kill me for that kiss, but I don't see any boys running down the street at us." Ginny stopped struggling and looked at Erik. Was he right? Did Harry really not love her anymore? She leaned into him and let the tears flow. He kissed the top of her head softly. "I didn't mean to hurt you, but you needed to hear the truth," he said. She stopped crying and looked up into his eyes. She stood on her tiptoes and kissed him.

"Thank you," she whispered. They continued to walk to the pub in silence. Ginny closed her eyes briefly. What was she going to do if Harry came home? How would he forgive her for being so fickle? He had disappeared and two weeks later, she was forgetting about him. But he had left her hanging. He should have come home sooner. All of this was his fault! No, Ginny told herself. It's entirely your fault. If he had known how much she loved him, then he wouldn't have ran away, but she hadn't let him know.

"Ginny?" Erik asked the girl walking beside him. She opened her eyes and looked up at him. "It's not your fault he didn't come back from The Battle," he said as if he could read her mind. She smiled at him and the opened the door into the small, crowded pub.

"What was that?" Fred shouted angrily. Several customers jumped at the shopkeeper's outburst.

"Fred," Angelina said quietly from her position behind the cash register.

"He kissed her!" Fred shouted, whirling around to face his girlfriend.

"George, take my place," Angelina said to the boy that was rearranging a shelf of products so that there was no sense of organization. According to him, the neatness took away from the atmosphere of the store. He nodded his head and looked at Fred concernedly. "Come with me," Angelina said to Fred. She took his hand and pulled him out of the store.

"That dirty Slytherin kissed her!" he said again.

"What Slytherin? What her?" Angelina asked calmly.

"That Erik kid from yesterday and Ginny!"

"Fred, it's okay. You heard Ron earlier, Ginny considers herself to be dumped by Harry."

"But a Slytherin?"

"How is she supposed to know that he used to be in Slytherin?" Angelina asked, as always the voice of reason. She stopped and turned to face Fred. She took his other hand in her free hand. "Why can't Ginny kiss another guy if she thinks she has no boyfriend?"

"Because…" Fred started to say, but couldn't find a good reason. Angelina wrapped her arms around Fred.

She stood on her tiptoes and kissed him on his cheek. He smiled and kissed her on her lips. When they broke apart, Fred asked, "You said you know that kid?" Angelina nodded her head. "How?" Angelina broke eye contact with Fred and looked at the ground.

"He and I are friends," she mumbled.

"You're a friend with a Slytherin?" Fred asked incredulously. "Well, at least you aren't evil," he said, smiling. She looked up at him again. She returned his smile. "Is he at all evil? Was he a Death Eater?" Fred asked. Angelina's smile disappeared. Fred crinkled his brow in concern.

"Yes," she said. "He was a Death Eater, he escaped The Battle before it ended." Fred opened his mouth to say just what he thought about his little sister kissing a Death Eater. Angelina kissed Fred on the lips again. "But he's a good kid. I'd trust him with my life. I promise he won't try to hurt Ginny," she said quietly. She didn't beg Fred to give Erik a chance. She just told Fred with all the sincerity she could muster just how much she trusted Erik. "I'd trust _your_ life to him," she said. Fred bit his bottom lip. He trusted Angelina's judgment with all his heart, but she was asking an awful lot for him to trust Erik with Ginny. Angelina looked at Fred patiently.

"How long have you known him?" Fred asked. Angelina could see the wheels turning in Fred's mind. He wanted to trust Angelina's opinion, but he couldn't bring himself to trust a Slytherin who also was an ex-Death Eater.

"I've known him since we were kids. He lived down the street from me." Angelina looked at Fred. "And yes, I did know he was a Death Eater while he wore the mask, and yes I would've trusted him with my life then too," Angelina said, answering Fred's questions before he had a chance to ask them.

"Algae, you know I trust you completely," Fred said slowly. "But you're asking me to trust a Death Eater…" Angelina opened her mouth to protest but he silenced her with a finger to her lips. "Once a Death Eater, always a Death Eater. But you ask me to trust a Death Eater with my sister, alone. If she was just any other girl, I'd trust him the way you speak of him, but she's not just any other girl. She is a Weasely, and Weasely's are marked as blood-traitors. Not only that, but she's Harry's girlfriend. Even if she thinks that their relationship is over, she is still a way for any escaped Death Eater to get to Harry both physically and emotionally. Then, once they get Harry into their grasps, then they could avenge their master. I'm sorry, but I can't allow Erik to see Ginny alone. It's not a risk I'm willing to take. I don't want to lose either Ginny or Harry. There has already been enough death in the family." Angelina didn't beg Fred to change his mind. She didn't cry at his statement, she merely looked at him. "Algae…he's just trying to get revenge for his dead master!" Fred said exasperatedly.

"Okay," Angelina said, shrugging her shoulders. "They're in there if you want to break them up," Angelina said, pointing her thumb over her shoulder at the small pub.

Fred started to walk towards the pub, but stopped as he became shoulder to shoulder with Angelina. "Okay, you win, I'll give him a chance," Fred sighed. He turned around and started to walk back to the shop. Angelina grabbed his arm and stopped him.

"Thank you," she whispered. She kissed him passionately, putting all of her gratitude into the kiss. They pulled apart slowly, unhappily, and walked back to the twin's store, hand in hand. Fred had a hard time forgetting the fact that an ex-Death Eater was currently eating lunch with his little sister, but he managed to at least ignore the fact. When they got back to the store, Fred put all his energy into messing up the shelves that Angelina painstakingly organized each morning. She rolled her eyes. He leaned over the counter and kissed her cheek gently.

"I love you," he said.

"Not as much as I love you," she said, her eyes twinkling. George looked briefly at his coworkers and laughed. It was amazing the effect Angelina could have on Fred. He could never stay mad for long if she had anything to do with it. Those two really were a perfect match for each other. He turned back to cleaning the window that showed passerby their latest inventions.

**Author's Note:** Wow, I am SOOO sorry that it took me soooo long to get this up, but like I said I had a play at my school to do, and so I've been at school fro like 7a to 9p, so, basically I've been swamped with work, and this week has been almost as busy, trying to catch up on everything…but yeah, you don't need to know my life story.

Response to Reviews: Okay everybody! I am disappointed for a couple of reasons. 1.) I only got 5 reviews for this chapter, but I got 10 for the previous chapter, not very uplifting. Is my story losing its appeal? And 2.) There were 85 hits on the chapter alone, and only 6 of those hits had reviews to go with it…let's raise the number, shall we, I say we go for 10! Oh and 3.) None of my friends (the ones I actually know in person, all reviewers are friends ) ) reviewed this chapter…'( However, to the five of you that reviewed my story and told me what you thought, thank you very much, you made my week more bearable.

Ketta dragontamer- oh, I wouldn't call security! (I'm too poor :p) I'm glad there are lots of questions; it means maybe you'll keep reading! D and I'm glad my mysteriousness makes the story great, and Harry's coming home…eventually

Whowantstoknow- I'm glad you like it! And as for Remus…x hehe, I'm not saying! And as for when Harry and Ginny will get together…again, I'm not saying, but it's coming up. And depending on your definition of soon, they'll meet "soon"

ThE bEsT pArT oF bElIeVe Is ThE lIe- believe me, I agree with you! He should get back to Ginny, but eh, he's not under my control… sadly

Bookwrm17- I'm glad you like my interactions! I'm terrible sorry it took me so long to update… I hope you're still around to read this

crystal butterfly- I'm glad you liked the chapter! And I'm REALLY glad you think my story is great!


	11. Chapter 11

_I just wish I knew what I wanted, _Harry said. He turned his head slightly so that the snake was within his view of sight. Harry had been sitting with his back leaned against an old oak tree for several hours. His mind had entertained several ideas as to what he should do for the remainder of his life, but nothing had sounded interesting to Harry.

_That is something with which I cannot help you, Harry,_ Giolla returned. Harry laughed derisively.

_I'm not sure I'd want an evil snake's opinion on what I should do with my life!_

_I beg your pardon! I'm not evil! And I happen to have very valuable opinions!_

_Oh, name one…_Harry said, trying not to laugh.

_For one thing, you really need to figure out how to figure out if I'm evil or not, you look exhausted!_ Giolla chided Harry. He was forcibly reminded of Mrs. Weasely forcing him to eat seven helpings of every dish. For a change, he smiled at her memory rather than get choked up.

_I'm f-f-fine…_Harry said, his speech interrupted by a yawn he was unable to suppress.

_Indeed, and I'm going to walk on my hands tomorrow. _

_All right, I'll go up to the castle tomorrow to do some research,_ Harry acquiesced. He closed his eyes lightly. He jerked upright, though, when he realized he was falling asleep.

_I win; we go now,_ Giolla said. With that, she began to slither towards the edge of the forest. Harry idly wondered how she knew where it was, but didn't bother to ask. As Giolla made plain her wish to be silent, Harry was left to his own thinking. Maybe he could go back to the Burrow. He and Ron were going to be Aurors together. No, he had promised that he would save them from his face. Harry never went back on a promise. _But maybe you should just this once,_ Giolla said from somewhere to Harry's left, breaking his train of thought.

_Did I say all that out loud?_ Harry asked incredulously. He had thought he had gained control over his thoughts. After all, he had spent the last many months training in Occlumency. It had been much easier without Snape breaking into his mind several times per week. Harry had, in actuality, gotten much better at it.

_No, I was just listening into your thoughts,_ Giolla said nonchalantly as if it was no big deal. Harry on the other hand had to disagree. She appeared suddenly to Harry's right, causing him to look about him confusedly. She slithered by Harry's feet, keeping pace with him.

_Why?_ Harry asked. Giolla had been very well mannered lately, why would she suddenly start listening into Harry's thoughts?

_It's interesting listening to you argue with yourself,_ Giolla said. Harry blinked a couple of times and rubbed his eyes. Was that a shrug? How on earth do snakes shrug? _Yes, it was a shrug,_ Giolla said, interrupting Harry's thoughts again.

_Would you quit doing that?_ Harry asked. He was starting to get slightly irritated. Just once, he would like to have his mind all to himself. Right up until Voldemort had died, Harry's mind had been bombarded by images and sounds supplied by none other than the Dark Lord himself, and vice versa as Voldemort tried desperately to get past Harry's defenses to extract information on the Order and Harry's training level.

Why? It's so much fun! Harry shook his head; those weren't his thoughts! _Did I just read your thoughts?_ Harry asked the snake that was at his side. Oh wait, she wasn't there! Where was she? Harry spun around looking for the snake. There she was, three steps in front of him. How did she get there?

_Yes, I suppose you did. Now let's just get on with this silly little trek, shall we?_ Harry sighed this snake was posing more mysteries than he really cared to deal with. Harry looked up into the sky. It was dark, as it always was these days…nights. Harry had taken up a nocturnal schedule. It wasn't so much out of necessity as it was for want. Harry enjoyed being awake in the night. The nighttime had held a fascination with Harry since he was a little boy. Maybe it had something to do with him sneaking dinners in the middle of the night and studying magic by night, or maybe it was simply because he was a teenage boy…

Giolla slithered off of the small deer path that they had been following. Harry continued to follow the path, ignoring Giolla's sudden disappearance. He heard footsteps and immediately tensed up. _Harry! Get in here!_ Giolla said impatiently. Harry ducked into a nearby bush and watched as a pair of legs walked past.

_Who is it?_ Harry asked anxiously. Was it a Death Eater coming after him?

_No one of your concern,_ Giolla said. She slithered out into the open. _I'll let you know when he passes._

_Thanks,_ Harry said. He crouched down lower, trying to stay out of sight.

_Where is he?_ a voice said in parseltongue above Harry. Harry didn't recognize the voice.

_I don't get anything if you tell me,_ another voice pointed out plainly. Harry recognized the hiss as one of the snakes that had tried to chase Giolla out of 'her' territory. He tensed. Surely they were talking about him.

_I could get rid of that green and silver snake for you. The revolting boy would be gone too,_ the voice said. Chills went up and down Harry's spine from the tone the voice used when it said that Harry would be gone.

_But I like the revolting boy,_ the local snake said. _He makes the other snake hunt in other areas._

_But if the boy leaves, the snake will be gone forever,_ the voice argued.

_All right, I suppose you are right. Follow me and I'll show you where the boy sleeps during the day,_ the snake said reluctantly.

_At day?_ the man's voice asked curiously.

_Indeed, he's a funny fellow like that. He sleeps during the bright time and talks to the green and silver snake at night._

Harry listened as he heard footsteps walk away and a rustle of leaves as the common snake lead the way. _Giolla,_ Harry whispered carefully.

_Hush, boy. Else the man will hear you, he's not gone yet, _Giolla whispered from somewhere to Harry's right. Harry tried to shrink deeper into the bush he was hiding in. Something about the other human's voice told Harry that he shouldn't show himself to the other man. He waited patiently for Giolla to tell him that it was safe to continue his walk to the castle. Harry rubbed his arms impatiently as goose bumps rose, causing the hairs to stick up on end. Harry heard footsteps walk past his bush again.

_You said he would be there!_ The voice from before said. He sounded irritated.

_He usually is,_ the common snake pleaded. She sounded frightened.

Harry thought about standing up and discovering what man could instill such fear on the snake, but Giolla's thought-speak interrupted his idea. Don't you dare move. Harry rolled his eyes. Apparently, he would never be able to think a free thought again with Giolla on the watch. He sighed and waited patiently for Giolla to give the word that the man was gone. Harry started to shiver as a cool breeze blew in the early morning air. The sky was still pitch black, but Harry could feel the slight shift in the air, signaling the beginning of morning.

_Okay Harry,_ Giolla said from behind Harry. He slowly stood up and looked around himself cautiously. _The man is gone along with the pathetic excuse of a snake,_ she sneered. Harry's face brightened as he thought of an idea.

_Giolla, could you tell me what the man looked like?_ If Giolla could describe the man, the Harry would know who was looking for him and he would be able to know whether or not he was a man Harry should fear or not.

_He wore interesting shoes; other than that, I know nothing of his physical appearance,_ Giolla said, shrugging again. _After all, I have horrible long distance vision._

_What about his scent?_ Harry asked impatiently. He had to know who this man was. If Harry was confident in the man's lack of ability, Harry could duel the man and be done with it. Or, Harry could abandon the forest and find someplace new to live.

_You could go to the Burrow,_ Giolla suggested. She winked up at Harry.

He sighed exasperatedly. _You know I cannot,_ he said.

_I know you will not,_ Giolla countered. _As for his taste, it was quite distinct and unpleasant._ Harry sighed, that wasn't exactly something he could act on. _Hurry up, would you? If you want to get your research done before dawn, then I suggest you pick up the pace a bit!_ Giolla said impatiently. She sped up, causing Harry to do the same. He quickly found himself jogging briskly just to keep up with the serpent.

Harry was just about to ask for a rest when the forest abruptly ended. Harry dove to the ground. He was right behind a hut. Hagrid's hut, Harry realized with a shock. _Yes, that is the oaf's hut. So go ahead and knock on the door,_ Giolla prompted the teenage boy.

_Shut up, Giolla. We're here for one purpose and one purpose alone. To prove whether or not you are evil,_ Harry said, crawling along the ground, out of sight of the hut. Once Harry thought himself to be out of sight of the glowing windows of his old friend's home, he stood up and ran to the castle. He quickly shut the door behind him and was surprised to see the snake already slithering towards the library. Harry quietly hurried after the green and silver serpent. Harry stopped when he reached the large, foreboding doors of the library.

_What's wrong Harry?_

_The doors are always locked after hours, _Harry said simply. How could he have forgotten that?

_Do you not have your wand? Are you not a wizard?_ Giolla waited a moment for Harry to figure out what she was implying. When he said nothing, she jabbed her tail at the pocket that contained his wand. _Does the word 'Alohomora' mean anything to you?_

_Of course!_ Harry said. _Hermione! Are you a witch or not?_ Ron's voice filled Harry's head. He smiled, that had been first year when a Devil's Snare had trapped the trio. Harry pulled his wand out of his pocket and whispered the incantation. There was a click and the door unlocked. Harry edged into the room, keeping an eye out for the severe librarian. _Any idea where a book on this subject would be?_ Harry asked as he stared in wide-eyed wonder. It had never hit him how many books were in this enormous library.

_What subject?_ Giolla asked quietly. Harry looked down, and she winked at him.

_On testing to figure out if an ancient snake made by Salazar Slytherin is evil without her Voldemort core,_ Harry said. He slumped his shoulders when he thought how futile of a search this would be. What author would write so much as a sentence about such a strange subject?

_Most likely the Restricted Section_, Giolla suggested. Harry shrugged; it was as good a place to start as any.

He walked over to the section. He unhooked the rope and skimmed along the row of spines. A multicolored spine caught his eyes. Half of it was white and the other half was a dark blood red. The title read _Evil or Good? The answer in Easy-to-Read format!_. Harry laughed at his luck. He pulled the book from its shelf and began to leaf through the pages. He quickly found out that the subjects were ordered alphabetically. He flipped the pages to the Ss. No sooner had he opened to the page labeled 'serpents' than a gritty voice called out into the dark, "Out of bed are we? And not during the school year either! If I ran this school you'd be hanging by your toenails quicker than you can say 'not fair'!" Harry cringed; that could be only one person: Filch.

Harry bolted for the door. As he was running down the halls, one thought chased itself around in his mind, 'Why didn't I grab the stupid book? The answer was right there!'

Harry yanked a door open. Behind the door was…a wall. Harry groaned, a wall pretending to be a door! Harry turned and kept running. He stopped short, though, when a small figure blocked his way. Harry looked down into the lamp-like eyes of Mrs. Norris. She meowed. Harry cursed the cat and kicked her, hard. Harry smiled briefly, that had felt good, before running down the hall again. His breath started to become harder to come by and Harry began to look side to side frantically. If only he could find someplace to hide. Just his luck, though, he seemed to be running down the one hallway in the school that didn't have any classrooms.

The Room of Requirements! Harry nearly stopped running when he thought of the idea. He crouched behind a statue and tried to get his bearings. Where was he? How could he get to The Room? Harry tried to sink further into the shadows when he heard the old man's heavy breathing. Harry looked up to see how much coverage the statue provided. It was the humpbacked witch! Harry knew exactly where he was now. He thought about climbing down the passageway, but Filch would catch him without a problem. Harry had had to disclose this passageway when the school's safety came into question. But at least he now knew he was on the third floor. He wracked his mind for some shortcut to get all the way to the seventh floor. Harry smiled when he thought of it. He immediately stood up and ran as fast as he could. He streaked past Filch who sputtered angrily and gave chase.

Harry slipped slightly when a rug pulled itself out from underneath him as he hurtled around a corner, but he managed to straighten himself and continue running. Harry ran up and down a familiar hallway three times and yanked open the door that appeared. He shut the door behind himself and fell to the floor breathing heavily while he leaned against the door. When Harry thought he had control over his breath once more, he opened his eyes. Their murky green layers stared transfixed at a mirror that was rimmed with an ornate gold pattern. It was as tall as a classroom. There was an inscription on the top. Harry stood up slowly and walked towards the mirror. He read the inscription. "Erised stra ehru oyt ube cafru oyt on wohsi," he whispered to himself. His eyes drank in the wonder of the mirror.

_Harry?_ Giolla asked the boy. _Master?_ she tried again. She gently poked him with the edge of her tail. Harry did not move. His eyes continued to take in the patterns around the frame of the mirror. Giolla tried jabbing him harder, but to no avail.

"I show not your face but your heart's desire," whispered Harry. His voice was hoarse and his eyes glazed over as he stared into the depths of the mirror. His eyes roved over the entire silvery surface, searching. His hand reached out and traced the gold rim. "Tell me," he whispered. His eyes watered slightly and Harry's hands drifted up and down the rim, as if trying to convince the mirror of something. His fingers slowly made their way onto the silvery surface and began to trace indistinct shapes. Giolla tried to see what Harry was tracing, but she saw nothing. Giolla flicked her tongue. What was he seeing? She tensed and fled to hide behind the mirror as she felt vibrations in the floor. Her tail only just disappeared before the door opened.

"Potter," a cold voice sneered.

**Author's Note:** Sorry it is taking me so long to get a chapter written, but they are getting harder to write, partially because I've been really busy, partially because my mom is annoyed at how much time I spend on the computer, and partially because I'm having issues with writers' block…ah well, chapter twelve will take me a while, I will warn you of that, mainly because it has a couple of tricky spots that don't want to put into words…but I promise I'll do my best to get it up ASAP.

Response to Reviews: I just thought I'd put out a general note now that I can respond to everyone with that nifty new feature they added. This space will now be for questions that I think everyone should be aware of (And I'll respond to anonymous reviews here). As for anonymous reviews, I only received one, and that review is not worthy of a response. FYI to that reviewer and to all other aspiring reviewers, I'd appreciate if you would refrain from using profane and offensive language in your reviews, thank you. As for the general questions: there are none, except the every popular when is Harry coming back. Well, Harry is coming back after I have lots and lots of reviews! Haha! And since _I'm_ the author, I get to do that sort of thing D


	12. Chapter 12

Dear Ron,

Rashida has asked me to provide further security for this first year after The Battle. Please keep in touch! How's everyone? When I left, everyone seemed pretty upset. Why haven't you owled me? It's been nearly two months since I went on vacation! I miss you and everyone!

Love,

Hermione

Hermione read over her note to Ron quickly. Satisfied, she called her friend's owl over to her. When the screech owl held out his leg for Hermione, she tied the piece of parchment to it and sent the owl on his way. She turned around and looked at the room she had lived in for the past two months. "I'll have to let Dasha know that I'm leaving," she said to herself as she waved her wand and directed her few scattered belongings into her trunk. "And I'll have to thank her mom for letting me stay in Damien's room…" she continued to talk to herself. Her socks neatly folded themselves and her books piled on top of each other equally neatly. "Oh, and I'll have to…" Hermione's voice drifted off when there was a knock on her door. "Come in," she said, directing the last of the books into her trunk. With a flick of her wand, Hermione shut the lid of her trunk and latched it shut. The plain door opened and in walked a young woman with long golden-brown hair.

"You're leaving so soon?" she asked when she looked at Hermione's bare room. She spoke with a thick Greek accent, but spoke in English. She brushed a lock of her hair aside so that her green eye was no longer covered.

"Yeah, my old school needs my help," Hermione replied. She tried to speak in Greek, but her friend laughed at Hermione's pronunciation. "Hey! I never laugh at your pronunciation!" Hermione protested, falling back into English.

"That's because there is nothing to laugh at!" the girl replied, smiling smugly. Hermione glared at her friend but couldn't stay angry long, so she began to laugh, shaking her head in defeat. "So why do you have to go back? Didn't you graduate?" Hermione's friend teased her.

"No, Dasha Evadne, it's because they want me to help with security," Hermione said. Dasha mockingly glared at Hermione at the use of her middle name. Hermione stuck her tongue out and flicked her wand to levitate her trunk. "Locomotor trunk," Hermione said. Her heavy trunk then floated easily and followed the direction of her wand. She looked at her friend. "I'm sorry I have to cut my visit short…" she mumbled.

"Just promise you'll come back to Greece sometime," Dasha commanded.

"Promise," Hermione replied. She wrapped her friend in a fierce one-armed hug, keeping her wand still. Dasha walked with her friend to the front door of the house.

"How will you go home?" Dasha asked.

"Floo Powder." A woman with hair that matched Dasha's walked out of the deliciously smelling kitchen, bringing some of the scents with her. Hermione sighed and wished she could have stayed for one more meal with the family that had graciously shared their home with her, but the letter from the headmistress said that she wanted to see Hermione as soon as possible. "Mrs. Chakiris, thank you so much for having me these past couple of months!" Hermione said, letting her trunk fall gently to the floor. She went over to the plump woman and wrapped her arms around the woman. Hermione breathed in the smell of the woman's wonderful cooking. Hermione slowly broke apart from the woman and hugged Dasha again. She levitated her trunk once more and directed it purposely to the living room. She lowered her trunk, broke the spell, and then used her wand to create a roaring fire in the large fireplace. She took a pinch of green powder from a small bowl on the mantle and threw it into the fire. The fire immediately roared into a shocking emerald green color.

"Take care of yourself!" the plump woman scolded Hermione as the girl picked up one end of her trunk.

"Owl me and let me know how it's going!" Dasha said, waving goodbye to her owl-pal.

"Bye, I promise I'll write, don't worry," Hermione said. She pulled her trunk into the fire next to her, lifted it up onto its end and cried out, "Howgwarts, Rashida's office."

There was a sickening spinning feeling. Hermione tucked her elbows in as far as she could without letting go of her trunk. She closed her eyes tightly, the flashing images of other rooms made her dizzy. Finally the spinning stopped and Hermione toppled out of a different fireplace. She looked up from her vantage point on the ground at a familiar claw-footed desk. Portraits surrounded her, one of which caught her eye and a lump formed in her throat. The portraits were pretending to sleep. That is, all but one. The brass nameplate underneath read: Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore Headmaster 1955-1997. The man winked from behind his half moon spectacles. Hermione looked at the portrait, a tear escaping her brown eyes.

"Rashida, I believe you have a visitor," the old man said kindly to the chair. The chair spun around to face Hermione.

"Hermione!" the woman cried happily. "So good of you to come. Dumbledore said that you would be good for the job. You will have lodging at the school. Albus said that you would know where to find it?" The woman had black hair and stood tall. Her gray eyes were sharp and sat behind gold-rimmed glasses. She took the glasses off, folded them, and set them on her desk. Hermione hurried to stand up and brushed her robes off. "Now, have a seat and we'll wait for the others."

"Excuse me Professor, who else is coming?" Hermione asked.

"First thing," the woman said. "Never call me professor. It makes me feel old. Call me Rashida, or you may shorten it however you like, just don't call me Radish. Second, as for the others, they consist of Ronald Weasely, Katie Bell, and Roger Davis." Hermione nodded her head and sat in a plush chair, waiting patiently for the other three to arrive. They all arrived within ten minutes. Rashida conjured up two more plush chairs to accommodate the last two to arrive, Katie and Ron. "Now, I do believe we shall get started. You four were brought here simply to provide extra security for the students over the next year. Hopefully, you will be bored, but no guarantees. Each night, you will patrol the corridors in shifts with the teachers. During the day, you are to walk amongst the students. Feel free to take students from their classes if they are suspicious in any way. My goal in hiring you guys is to minimize fear among the parents. If you have any questions please feel free to come see me here. The current password is "Niffler." Go ahead and make yourselves at home, Hermione, will you show everyone where you'll be staying? Ronald, I believe you know where it is also? Oh, and Hermione, dear, you may leave your trunk here. The house elves will take care of it." Hermione sniffed disapprovingly.

"Really, is it fair-"

"Hermione, I know how you feel on this subject, however, you will not sway my opinion along with the opinion of the entire wizarding world," Rashida said, sighing.

"Thank you, I've been trying to tell her for _years_!" Ron exclaimed. "Oh, and could you please call me Ron, Professor?"

"Oh! One more rule before you go, and yes, I'm very capable of calling you Ron, there will be no calling me Professor, my name is Rashida and that is what I want you to call me." Rashida nodded her head. "Okay, you can go now." The four young adults walked out of the office. None of them, except for Hermione had noticed Dumbledore's portrait on the wall.

"So where are we going?" Roger Davis asked.

"You'll see," Hermione said, leading everyone to their new home. "Though I will warn you, it's on the seventh floor." Roger groaned.

"That's so far every morning for breakfast!" Roger complained.

"But you'll be in shape for Quidditch," Katie pointed out.

"But it's so far!" Roger repeated.

"Oh be quiet, we're here," Ron said. They stood in front of a door. Behind them a tapestry of Baranabas the Barmy trying to trolls the ballet. Ron opened the door and inside was a cozy room. A fire burned solidly on the far wall. Two couches and a chair were set up around a low coffee table in front of the fire. On the left side of the room were two four-poster beds with a small end table by each one. Trunks sat at the footboards of either bed. On the right side of the room were two more four-poster beds with trunks at the feet of each and end tables by the pillow. Worn rugs covered the floor in patches.

"How…charming," Katie said as she toyed with a rug with her foot.

"It has its perks," Hermione said.

"Do the rooms separate?" Roger asked.

"Of course," Ron said. He waved his wand in the general direction of the beds on the left side. Slowly, a wall emerged from the already existing wall and separated those two beds from the rest of the room.

"Clever," Hermione said.

Ginny stared out of the train window into the bleak fall surroundings. Rain lashed at the windows, matching her mood. Her compartment was empty. No one wanted to sit with a gloomy seventh year old, especially one notorious for her fiery temper. She watched a drop of rain streak down the window.

"I need to move on. He's as good as dead," Ginny said to herself. There was a hoot from the seat across from her. "I know Hedwig. He's not actually dead, but if he doesn't like me anymore…" Ginny let her voice trail off. She stood up and bent down. She reached under the seat and pulled her broom out. It had been Charlie's, and wasn't the best broom out there, but she could make it fly fast and true. She fished around some more and pulled out a broomstick servicing kit. She began to polish the elderly handle. "I have to get a team together," she said absentmindedly. "There's that Robins girl…I suppose it'd just be easier to have tryouts for every spot. Hopefully there's some new people," she muttered to herself as she wiped the fingerprints away. When it could shine no more, she carefully put it away and went back to staring out the window.

After a few minutes, she looked around the empty compartment. It just wasn't the same without Harry and Hermione. Hermione had said that she would be home in time to say goodbye to Ginny, but she was still missing in action. The train rattled to a stop and Ginny stood up and joined the jostling crowd of students. She followed the crowd into the Great Hall.

"Ginny!" The redheaded girl looked up at the familiar voice.

"Hermione!" the girl cried back. There, sitting at her usual place was Hermione Granger. The older girl beckoned Ginny over and she happily obliged. "What are you doing here?" Ginny asked when she reached her friend.

"She's here for security, just like me," Ron said, leaning over to the two girls from his spot across the table. Ginny smiled and sat down next to Hermione where she had so many times before.

A group of girls walked up to Ginny. "There you are!" one with brown hair said.

"You going to sit with us?" one with black hair asked. She looked at Ron and Hermione. Hermione saw the girl with black hair flick her eyes between the pair.

"No, we're not students. We're staff this year," Hermione supplied the younger girl. The younger girl nodded her head and smiled at Hermione.

"Go on, I'll catch up with you later. I haven't seen Hermione for two months," Ginny said. The four girls smiled and continued to their seats. Ginny smiled at their retreating backs. All four of them had been really lucky. Only one of them lost an older brother to the war, and she was over him now. They could now continue their lives like nothing had happened. Ginny on the other hand…

"You could have sat with them," Hermione pointed out.

"I know, but I missed you," Ginny said, tearing her eyes away from her friends and to Hermione. "Hey, can you guys dock points?" A mischievous glint went over her eye.

"No, sadly," Ron said, looking over to the Slytherin table.

"Really Ron!" Hermione said. Ginny's smile faded slightly, but came back when she started to laugh at Hermione and Ron as they began fighting…again.

"Ron! You're supposed to be a mature adult staff person! Not a child riveted on old school rivalries!" Hermione chided her best friend.

"Oh come on hermione! Don't you remember Umbridge's Inquisitorial Squad? Nearly all of them were Slytherins! Now's our chance to get back at them!" Ron said.

"Except that they all graduated!" Hermione said exasperatedly.

"But it's the concept! Besides, they're Slytherins! Just look at their faces!" Ron said, his voice rising. Ginny shook her head at the pair.

"Who's the new Headmistress? I didn't recognize the name on the letter," Ginny asked, interrupting the argument.

"Rashida," they said together.

"I bet _she'd_ let us dock points!" Ron said triumphantly. "I do believe I'll ask her after supper," he said, smiling smugly.

"You'll do no such thing!" Hermione said, her eyes boring into Ron.

"Excuse me!" a clear voice rang over the crowd. The noise continued, until a loud bang issued from a wand held by the woman who stood at the front of the room. Suddenly silence washed over the crowd. Hermione glared at Ron and he smiled back at her, daring her to stop him from asking Rashida if they could dock points. "Now that I have your attention, as you can tell, I am your new Headmistress. There are several new professors to replace the ones we unfortunately lost this past summer. Another new addition is four previous students who will be here to help with security. I do not expect to need them," she paused and glared at the student body. A few people turned and broke eye contact with the woman, a few stared back, and a few had a glazed look in their eyes. "If those four would please rise," Rashida asked, her eyes roving over the students looking for her security personnel. Hermione and Ron stood up. Not far from them, Katie stood up also.

"Roger!" a loud whisper said. A few people laughed while Roger Davis stood up, glaring at his friend that had woken him up from his daydream.

"Anyways. These four, though you may know them as friends and fellow students, you are to respect them like teachers. If I hear of _any_ student badgering them." She stopped to look pointedly at the Slytherin table. "Then you will deal with me." She finished. "Now, before we begin our wonderful feast, each of the new teachers will introduce themselves," she said as she backed away to her seat in the middle of the Head Table. Ginny ignored the next few speakers and turned to her friends.

"She looks painfully familiar! Who is she?" she hissed.

Ron shrugged his shoulders and attacked the food that was now appearing.

"She used to be the Muggle Studies professor," Hermione said, taking a spoonful of mashed potatoes. Ginny looked back at the new Headmistress before taking a spoonful of green beans.

"What is she like? Is she strict?" Ginny asked as she helped herself to some lasagna.

"You'll have to find out yourself," Hermione said, smiling. "You better behave just in case," she added, smiling innocently at her friend.

"That means no," Ginny interpreted for herself. She smiled and looked across the table. She nearly burst out laughing. Ron was eating like always. His eyes focused on his food, and his teeth barely coming together to chew before he swallowed. His concentration was comical in Ginny's opinion. Her eyes naturally roved over to Harry's normal spot. Her stomach dropped out when she saw the empty seat. Despite the many times she told herself she was moving on, seeing the empty seat hit her hard. He'll be back, she told herself, though in her gut, she could tell she wasn't going to kid herself. Ginny shifted in her seat and tore her eyes away from the empty seat, the one that Harry didn't _want_ to fill, and went back to her dinner. She tried to position herself so that she couldn't see the empty seat, but that was impossible, especially since she kept looking at it. Her dinner was cold and tasted like ash. No matter how many times she told herself she was moving on, maybe she couldn't. Ginny sighed and pushed her plate away.

"Whassamadder?" Ron asked from behind a mouthful of chocolate cake. He followed her gaze with his own. He swallowed. "Oh," he said quietly. He stared at the empty seat next to him. "I thought you were over him. Fred said you had a new boyfriend," Ron said.

"Yeah, yeah, I am…I do," Ginny said, shaking her head slightly. She pushed the image of a smiling Harry from her mind and began eating dessert with a new determination.

"What?" Hermione asked suddenly, a spoonful of pudding halfway to her mouth.

"I met a guy," Ginny said, blushing slightly.

"Well?" Hermione prompted, lowering her spoon.

"His name's Erik, and he's three years older than me…but barely!" Ginny added when Hermione pursed her lips.

"Ginny, three years!" Hermione said exasperatedly. Ginny smiled, trying to look innocent. "Ron, don't tell me you approve!" Hermione demanded, rounded on her friend. Ron looked up from his pie and shrugged.

He swallowed mightily. "Well, Fred seemed okay with it."

Hermione's jaw dropped and she stared at Ron. What had happened with him? "Ha-Harry!" she stuttered. How could Ginny do this to Harry?

"Maybe he'll come back knowing that he might lose her," Ron said, shrugging and helping himself to another piece of fudge.

"Or maybe he was staying away because of me…" Ginny said glumly. Hermione jerked, she had almost forgotten Ginny was right there.

"Oh be quiet, he'll be home before you know it!" Hermione scolded.

"Shut up, Hermione. Maybe just this once, Harry isn't so hot headed. Maybe he made this decision with good rational and he's never coming back," Ron said, putting his fork down for the first time all evening.

"No, he's coming home. I just know it," Hermione said matter-of-factly.

Ron slammed his fist on the table causing a few first years around him to jump and scuttle away in alarm. He shouted a couple of words that caused the faculty to fly down toward him. Then, as he violently stood up, he slapped Hermione right across the face. "DEAL WITH IT! HE'S GONE!" he shouted at her. Hermione stared at him with wide eyes and watched him storm away.

"Miss Granger, are you all right?" Rashida asked concernedly. She was the first of a swarm of teachers to swoop around the table. Hermione looked up to her old professor with blank eyes. She reached her hand up to her cheek, stunned. Her eyes blinked a couple of times. Ginny stood up and pulled her friend up also.

"I'll take her to bed," Ginny told the teachers as she guided her stunned friend away.

"If you see Mr. Weasely, send him to me," Rashida said formidably.

"Yes, ma'am," Ginny said. She pulled her friend out of the silent Great Hall. Hermione's hand still gently touched her smarting cheek. She had never been slapped like that before, let alone by her best friend. Unfortunately for her, the words Ron had said hurt her far more than the sting on her cheek. She stared straight ahead. He wasn't coming home…ever.

**Author's Note:** Well, thanks for being patient, I'm so sorry it took me son long to update, please don't hate me! My life has been soo busy and I had writer's block like never before. So once again I'm really sorry.

Response to Anon. Reviews: Well, I thought it kind of unfair if I were to take the time to answer questions and respond to reviews of people signed in, and if you were too lazy to log in or do not have a penname yet, then I will answer your questions along with any questions or concerns that I deem important enough, thank you. And everyone, please welcome Heapies926 to the wonderful world of reviewers of Final!

Crystal Butterfly: Thanks for the review, and as you can see, I really don't care if you're logged in or not. But it makes me happy that you reviewed! I'm glad you liked the chapter. I am soo sorry it took so long to update. Usually it won't take two weeks to update, I hope!

Major Concerns: Well, there really weren't any. Other than "Who is in the room with Harry?" Well, I'm sorry that question wasn't answered this chapter, but the answer _is_ coming!


	13. Chapter 13

Harry turned around at the cold voice. A look of surprise covered Harry's face before he completely recognized the man in front of him. "H-How did you know it was me?" Harry croaked. His fingers went to his face. It was still disfigured. How could anyone recognize him? He no longer looked like James. He looked like a monster that didn't deserve to live.

"Please, I can sense your strut from a mile away, just like your father's," the man said, dismissing this fact with a wave of his hand.

"My father did not strut!" Harry cried, defending the father he never knew, the father he no longer looked like. Severus Snape looked at Harry with disbelief. Harry looked down at the floor quickly when he was forcibly reminded that he no longer looked like his father.

"Come with me, Potter," he said venomously.

"No," Harry said, his eyes hurried up to look at the older man in the eye. He shrank into the room a little more, looking for a way out. Snape was blocking the doorway, though.

"Don't be stupid, come with me," Snape said. Harry planted his feet and refused to follow his old professor. Snape looked at Harry, clearly exasperated. "Petrificus Totalus," he said in a bored tone. Harry's limbs flew to his body and were locked in place. Unable to keep his balance anymore, Harry toppled over and Snape smiled cruelly as Harry fell onto his side. Harry fixed a glare at Snape's feet. Snape pointed his wand at Harry and levitated his stiff body into the air. Snape then directed Harry's body down the hall. Luckily for Harry, no students were wandering the halls. Left with nothing else to do, the resentful young man watched the ceiling drift by. He could only guess where Snape was taking him. Harry was finally going to die, and at the hands of a supposedly ex-Death Eater. The war was over; Harry had killed Voldemort and bound all of the Death Eaters. Apparently, Snape had somehow weaseled himself out of the Ministry's clutches once again. So now, after all the work he had put into the war, pre and post, Harry was going to die by the hands of a Death Eater.

After a few minutes of Snape leisurely walking down the halls, Harry was gently lowered to the ground. "Liberacorpus," Snape said. Harry's arms and legs sprung away from his body as he suddenly received full range of motion once more. Harry stood up quickly and looked around. The glass jars that sat on shelves around the room glowed eerily in the dim light. Harry shivered slightly in the chill. He pulled out his wand and faced Snape.

"Just go ahead and kill me now," Harry said coldly.

"Now why would I want to do that?" Snape asked as he took a seat behind his desk.

"I'll make it easy for you," Harry challenged. He laid his wand on the professor's desk and held out his hands to his sides, his fists clenched in anger. Snape looked at him dubiously.

"Quit being stupid. I know it's hard for you, but honestly!" Snape said, his thin patience wearing out. He picked up Harry's wand and handed it back to the boy. Harry took it and looked at Snape, waiting for the killing curse and the flash of green light that he had so often seen in his dreams. "Well, sit down," Snape said. Harry walked slowly to the straight-backed chair that sat in front of the desk. He sat down slowly, warily eyeing Snape's wand that was still in the man's hand. "My lord!" Snape said. He put his wand on the desk and stared at Harry. "Look at me." Harry reluctantly brought his eyes up to the professor's face. Snape looked at Harry coldly. "You're killing your friends, you know?" He paused a moment for Harry to mentally follow him. "I'm not going to force you to go back to society or anything. That's purely your choice."

"No, but you're going to revenge Voldemort and kill me, aren't you?" Harry challenged.

"Shut up, Potter," Snape said tiredly. "Even someone as thick as you should be able to see that I'm not going to kill you." He paused a second, waiting for Harry to interrupt again. When the boy merely continued to stare stonily at the hooked-nose professor, Snape continued, "Your friends are miserable. They have been ever since you disappeared." Harry stared at Snape in shock. He apparently thought of something, because the expression was quickly replaced by a skeptical look.

"You're not going to give me a choice are you? You're going to call the Minister down here. That way you'll get some such reward for turning a killer in," Harry decided. There wasn't a chance that Severus Snape was going to show a sliver of humanity.

"Potter, has your time alone made you thicker than usual?" Snape asked the young man in front of him. "Why would I turn you in? It was a war. Besides, you were the only one who could kill the Dark Lord," Snape said.

"What about Colin Creevey?" Harry asked, choking on the boy's name.

"What about him? He was a casualty of war, the foolish boy," Snape said, shrugging his shoulders.

"I killed him," Harry said softly.

"What's your point, boy? Everyone makes mistakes."

"I used the unforgivable killing curse," Harry said. He held out his wrists. "Go ahead, tie me up and turn me in, I deserve it."

"SHUT UP!" Snape roared. Harry glared at the man. "For once, quit being a whiny prat!" He breathed heavily for a moment then seemed to have calmed down. He leaned in closer to Harry, his voice barely over a whisper. "I just wanted to warn you that you're killing your friends by staying away and refusing to-" There was a knock at the door. Both men's heads spun towards the door. Harry stared at it for a moment. "In here, Potter," Snape said to his ex-student. He opened a door to a small closet behind his desk. Inside was his private store of potion supplies. Harry didn't hesitate for a change and ducked into the closet. Snape waited a moment after Harry had gone into the closet before opening the door into the hallway. From inside the closet, Harry could hear a muffled conversation. It sounded like a girl to Harry, but apart from that, he could distinguish nothing. A few minutes went by. Harry heard the sound of a door shutting. Afterwards, there was no more talking. Could the student still be inside the professor's office? Harry dismissed this thought quickly. Snape would sooner kiss Harry than leave a student inside his office alone. Then again, Harry was alone in Snape's office…Harry shook his head; he wasn't a student. He waited a few more minutes before carefully opening the door. He looked through the crack at the small piece of the room he could see. No one was there. He then opened it far enough for his head to fit through and looked at the rest of the room. No one was there. Harry stepped out of the closet and shut the door. As he turned to leave the room and go back to the library, Harry noticed something sitting on the professor's desk that hadn't been there before. Harry stepped closer and saw a piece of parchment lying on top of the package. He picked up the piece of parchment. On it, scribbled in a spidery script were four words. _It's up to you._ Harry picked up the package and opened it carefully. Once it was open, a silvery piece of cloth washed over his hands, slipping over and around his fingers like water. It was his invisibility cloak. Harry paused for a moment, contemplating his next move. Making up his mind, he pulled the cloak over his head and carefully stepped out of the office, after making sure he was completely covered. He strode quickly toward the library. He walked up the hallway that lead toward the Great Hall. Once he reached the large open hallway, he heard footsteps and murmured conversation. Harry saw Snape walking with a student. Out of curiousity, Harry followed the pair. As he got closer, Harry decided that the girl must be a first year. She was too short and her voice was higher than the older students. Snape was explaining to the girl that first years weren't allowed on the House Quidditch teams.

"But Harry Potter was a first year!" the girl piped up. Harry rolled his eyes, grinning. They passed through an intersection. He heard a familiar voice and left the student and professor to follow the voice. He quickly caught up to two young men walking down the hall. He recognized the flaming red hair quickly and the lanky figure, but the other young man didn't look familiar. Harry sped up his walk to catch up with the pair.

"She has to understand!" Ron hissed to his companion.

"You probably could have convinced her in a different way. You didn't have to hit her," the other man reasoned. Ron hit someone? Harry stopped in shock. The boys kept walking and Harry missed something Ron said, but he quickly caught up, eager to find out why he had hit a girl.

"Roger, she _has_ to understand. She _has_ to accept it!" Ron said. It was obvious that he was exercising all of his self-control to keep his voice down. What does she have to understand? Harry wanted to ask, but stopped himself.

"Why don't you go apologize to her and talk to her?" Roger suggested. Ron shrugged his shoulders.

"But Hermione has to understand that…" Ron said, trailing off. Ron hit Hermione? Harry had to convince himself to keep up with the two, that and not hit Ron back for Hermione. He mentally urged Ron to continue, eager to find Ron's reasoning behind such a mad act, but Ron shook his head. "I guess you're right. Do you know where she is?" Roger shook his head. Harry looked away from the pair. They were standing outside of the Gryffindor common rooms. "Hang on just a second. Maybe Ginny knows where she is." Ron walked up to the Fat Lady. "Snicker Bicker," he said. The portrait swung open and Ron crawled through. Harry followed behind. The common rooms looked exactly the same. Harry saw Ginny curled up in a plush chair reading a book. She looked up at the sound of someone crawling into the common rooms. She glared at her brother and he promptly turned around and left. Harry looked at Ginny and let Ron go chase Hermione on his own. Harry started to walk up to Ginny. He walked around the chair so that he was between the fire and the chair. She looked up from the book and looked beside her, toward the fire. She closed her book, smiled and looked at him. She could see him through the invisibility cloak! That didn't make sense. Harry opened his mouth to apologize, but was interrupted when she happily called.

"Erik!" Harry stared at her for a moment, and then he realized that she was looking through him, not at him. Harry stepped out of the way and looked at the fire. He had brown hair had blonde tips that stood up at various angles. Harry watched with an open mouth as Ginny knelt on the floor by this boy. "Did you get Rashida's okay?" she asked him.

"Not a problem," he said smoothly.

"Well, then get in here!" Ginny said. She scrambled to stand up and give the boy room to get through the fireplace. His head disappeared and moments later a tall boy walked through the green flames. Ginny rushed to him and hugged him. Harry's jaw dropped even further. They sat down next to each other and began talking in low tones. Harry left the pair, thinking furiously. The other man's face looked familiar, but Harry couldn't place it. He sat down in a vacant chair and looked at them. Harry let his mind wander. The man leaned down and pecked Ginny on the cheek. A scar showed itself on his neck. Harry stifled a gasp as it dawned on him who this man was. The man leaned in for a kiss. Ginny turned her face away, though, and his lips fell harmlessly on her cheek. Harry clenched his fists at his side.

"What's the matter Gin?" the man asked. He pushed a lock of her hair that had fallen out of her ponytail to rest behind her ear. Harry clenched his jaw, biting back a yell.

"We're at school," Ginny whispered. The man pouted his lip a little and Ginny reached up and put her index finger on his lips. "Don't do that. You know I can't resist the puppy-dog look!" Ginny complained lightly. The clock chimed behind Harry and he jumped slightly. It was later than he thought it was, midnight. Where had the time gone? It couldn't have been later than ten when the first year stopped by Snape's office. Ginny turned around and looked at the clock disapprovingly. "Stay here, I'll be right back," Ginny said. She squeezed his hand a little bit before she began to round up the younger kids. "Come on. You guys have to get to bed!" she chided calmly. Harry frowned. He didn't remember a rule like that! All of the students went up to their dormitories without a complaint, except four girls. Ginny looked at them. "I'll be up in a second, guys," Ginny told them. They looked at Erik. Clearly, they didn't approve of him, and Harry agreed with them.

"Oh, no, it's okay, we'll wait for you," one of them said, smiling sweetly. Ginny rolled her eyes and turned back to Erik.

"I got to go," she said softly.

"Do you really? I just got here," Erik complained. "I got off work and came straight here and still we can't have more time?" he asked.

Ginny looked at her friends then back at Erik. "Yeah, I have to go, sorry."

"But didn't you make up that rule so we could be alone?" Erik pressed. She did? Harry was amazed that Ginny would do that.

"Yeah, but I have to go," Ginny said with another look at her friends. Ginny leaned into the older man. She sighed when she let him go. Harry glared at the older man as he watched Ginny go to bed. She blew him a kiss as she ascended the stairs, pausing as if hoping that her friends would continue up the steps. Displeased at Ginny's dawdling, one of her friends got behind her and pushed.

Erik sat down and Harry sat in a chair facing him. Harry could see why Ginny was into this guy; he had looks. After a couple of minutes of silence, Erik stood up and left the common room. Harry followed him. Though Erik didn't know it, the two walked to the front doors together. Once outside, they went their separate ways. Harry walked towards the forest while Erik walked down the long path.

Harry stopped and sat by the lake. As he sat down, he pulled his invisibility cloak off. Carefully, he folded it and put in his lap so he wouldn't forget it later. He needed some time to think. He heard a rustle as something pushed grass aside. Without looking behind him, Harry called out, _Hey Giolla._

_But I wanted to scare you,_ Giolla joked. _Why the long face?_ she asked when she slithered up next to him.

It's Ginny. I guess I should be happy that she's not moping over me but… 

_But you want her to be miserable?_ Giolla supplied.

_No!_ Harry said, shocked. _It's just that that kid's a Death Eater, or he was…_

_You realize I don't know whom you're talking about?_ Giolla confirmed.

_Yeah, I just want to talk,_ Harry said quietly. _It helps clear my mind sometimes to talk out loud. You know?_ He looked at the emerald snake that was coiled beside him.

_I know. Talk._

What should I do? Harry asked, turning his face away from the snake and towards the black glassy surface of the lake. A ripple formed and a tentacle of the giant squid broke the stillness. Harry watched as it tapped the surface of the water as if in greeting before disappearing to the unknown depths once again. 

_So you want to listen?_ Giolla laughed. Harry blushed a little bit.

_Yeah. I suppose I do._

_Well, you should go back home, _Giolla said matter-of-factly.

But what if they don't want me? Harry looked at his feet and picked at a few blades of grass that were beginning to yellow with the lack of rainfall brought. 

_You won't know until you go home._ Giolla said quietly.

_Ron can't be okay with Ginny dating that creep!_ Harry burst out. _I mean, I don't…_

_Yes you do. You want that girl all to yourself. _

_I don't know what I want,_ Harry said, frustrated.

_What did the mirror show you?_ Giolla asked. She came closer to Harry and he instinctively stroked her scaly back with a few fingers.

_That's just it, it didn't,_ Harry said. Giolla wrapped herself around his arm, and he reached across and began to stroke her with the other arm.

_I don't believe you,_ Giolla stated blatantly.

_Well, it's the truth, _Harry said.

_Then I'll tell you what you want. You want to break Erik and Ginny up, get back together with her, and go home,_ Giolla informed her master. _Not necessarily in that order._

_Never,_ _I doubt I could ever return home. After all, I kind of left them with a big mess. All those Death Eaters, and I killed Colin…_ Harry let his voice trail off into the night.

_It was war; people die in war. If you feel so guilty for the deaths and prisoners you left your people with, then why don't you return home and help your people return to their old lives? _Giolla asked shrewdly.

_Because…_ Harry started heatedly. Though, he couldn't find anything to say once he looked into the serpent's bottomless eyes.

Sleep. Let the idea of going home mull over your tired brain. Once you've recharged, I'm sure you'll see what I mean when I say you must return home. But… 

_But nothing. You know I'm not evil. I felt your probing last night,_ Giolla said simply. _You saw nothing of interest in my mind, I assume._

_I did not!_

_Yes you did._

_I did. I'm sorry, but I had to know. _

_Then go to sleep! We'll talk again about going home in the morning._

Harry said nothing in reply, but silently stood up and walked towards the forest and his campsite.

**Author's Note:** Wow, I seem to be developing a bad habit to take a really long time to update. I am soo sorry! Please forgive me! My updating schedule often directly correlates to school. My one friend at school often reads over my chapters to make sure it all makes sense and that. And since I haven't had school, and the original ending to this chapter didn't flow or fit at all…. it's just been a mess! So sorry again! By the way, happy belated New Year! And merry very belated Christmas! (Yes, I am a Christian that celebrates Jesus' birth on Christmas, if it offends you to be wished a merry Christmas, then just pretend I said nothing and review my latest chapter :)

Response to Reviews: Wow, this was just depressing. I got a total of four reviews for this chapter…. and I waited a long time, hoping to get more…. but alas, it's your problem if you don't review. I don't think I will take Harry home until I have one hundred and thirty reviews (130 reviews) And trust me, Harry's coming home soon. So you better get those reviews in! There were no anonymous reviews. However, one major thing I notices people commented one:

"Ron hit her?" Yes, he did. Think about it, he was upset himself and she was just making him feel worse, and he needed…wanted to make her shut up and realize the depressing truth he knew…does that make any sense? He wanted to knock some sense into her…. that issue was also slightly dealt with in this chapter. Well, so long.


	14. Chapter 14

The morning mist air clung to the girl's scarlet robes. Today was the day she replaced her friends. Somehow, it just didn't feel right to pretend that they just graduated. Not when people had died, people had lost hands, and people…Harry, had disappeared. In just half an hour, she would be in charge of six other students. Making a total of seven of them to carry on the Gryffindor legacy in Quidditch. Ginny sighed as she shouldered her new broom, a Cleansweep 11. Mrs. Weasely had thought it only fair that Ginny receive a new broom for being captain of the Quidditch team. The fact that she didn't want Ginny to take Charlie's old broom, like Ginny was originally going to, was never mentioned. She walked towards the Quidditch pitch slowly. She had plenty of time before tryouts began. In her left hand, she held a briefcase. Once she reached the fog-laden pitch, she opened the briefcase with a muffled click. Inside were four balls, the Quidditch balls. She selected the red ball and took it out. She threw it into the air and jumped on her broom to follow. She threw the Quaffle about and caught it herself, reveling in the speed of her new broom. After a few more passes to herself, she saw a crowd of people. Sighing to herself, she landed lightly, the Quaffle under her arm.

"Hello, I'm Ginny and I'm the new Quidditch Captain for the Gryffindor team," Ginny said. She cast a glance over the faces in front of her. "Now, I will group those of you who want to be Chasers in groups of two or three and you are to pass the Quaffle back and forth, finally scoring a goal at the other end of the pitch. Beaters, I will release one Bludger, pass the Bludger back and forth along the pitch, stay underneath the Chasers. Partway through the drill, I will release the second Bludger. The two beaters will then continue to handle the first Bludger while protecting the Chasers from the second Bludger. Seekers, your job is to catch a walnut that I will be levitating. Keepers, you will be trying to block the Chaser's goals, plain and simple. Each group will try three different times. Any questions?" Ginny looked around at the small crowd of people. No one raised their hand, so she nodded her head. "Okay, Seekers over there, Keepers over there, Beaters over there, and Chasers over there." Ginny watched as the crowd separated into four different groups. She went among the nearly twenty people. Judging them quickly with her eyes. By their builds, she organized them from what she thought would be from the worst to the best. The people flew on either their brooms or a school broom. Finally, hours later, Ginny collapsed on the grass after everyone had left. Her best friend had been by far the best Keeper, and a boy was clearly the choice for a beater, along with his girlfriend, but the relationship tension that might ruin the team made Ginny nervous. She pulled out the papers she had kept notes on during tryouts. She looked at them and sighed. How had Harry managed this? She wrote a few things down before leaning back and closing her eyes. There was no good Seeker. What should she do? She obviously needed one. She shook her head and decided to hold callbacks for one beater and a seeker. The other players weren't too bad. They didn't compare with past teams, but it was better than it could have been.

She trudged through the halls. Her mind wandered as her feet carried her around the castle. Her mind wandered to Harry and almost immediately recoiled. She couldn't think about him. Ron was right; he wasn't coming home. Suddenly she found herself thinking about Erik. What did she really know about him? What was she going to do with her life after school? She had never thought about life after school. She had been too encompassed with the war.

"Ms. Weasely," a severe voice said. Ginny turned around and looked at the formidable professor.

"Yes, professor?" Ginny asked, pulling her mind back to reality.

"I'd like to talk to you. My office please." The woman turned around and began walking towards her office. Ginny hung her head and followed her. What had she done? She had been in school for just over a week, and already she was in trouble? The two stopped at a pair of stone gargoyles. Rashida said the password and they stepped onto the revolving staircase. Once upstairs, Rashida sat behind her desk, and Ginny sat down in a chair opposite the headmistress. "Ms. Weasely, I am concerned for you," she started.

"Oh, Professor. Don't be concerned. I'm just fine," Ginny said. She was more confused now than ever before.

"No, you're not," Rashida said. She placed her fingertips together in a way that painfully reminded Ginny of Dumbledore. "Your grades at the end of last year were dismal. Somehow you managed to pass, but only thanks to your supreme grades from earlier. Your current grades are, if possible, worse. If you are unable to bring your grades up, your position as Quidditch captain will be revoked." Rashida looked at Ginny with solemn eyes.

"Professor!" Ginny exclaimed.

"That is all Ms. Weasely. Please, return to your common room and work on your homework." Rashida bent over her desk and began reading the papers there. Ginny stared in shock at the professor. After a moment, she came to her senses and returned to Gryffindor Tower.

"Ginny are you okay?" her best friend asked. Ginny looked up and stared at her friend. She would never understand Ginny's situation. She had lost no one to the war; her grades were impeccable. Ginny decided not to bother telling her best friend.

"Yeah, I'm great, but I think I'll go to bed," Ginny said.

"But what about the Transfiguration essay due tomorrow? You haven't even started!" the girl with black hair protested.

"I'll do it later," Ginny said with a wave of her hand. She walked up the stairs to her dormitory where she stared at the ceiling, trying to get her mind to empty so that she could sleep.

**Author's Note:** See everybody, you reviewed so updated much faster grins well, what did you think of the chapter? I know it wasn't much, but trust me, it's important grins

Response to Reviews: I am very happy with my reviewers now. 15 reviews. That is the most I have ever gotten for one chapter, chapter 3 being the runner up with 14. Although, the review rate is better. Of 183 hits, this chapter received 14 reviews, that's just over 8. Very good, I am very proud of you. A common concern was the number of reviews until Harry comes home. This story now has 114 reviews if you weren't watching. That means you have another 16 to go before Harry comes home. Don't worry; you'll make it! I have faith in my wonderful reviewers!

Anonymous Reviews: I did get two of them this time around:

harrypotterchick4ever- wow, I'm glad that even though this story is 13 chapters long (now 14) people are still just starting the tale. I hope you continue to like it as much!

Kate-yeah, Harry will go home when I have over 130 reviews, though you're well on your way. And trust me, your not the only one begging that, nor are you the only one that doesn't like Erik. I refuse to tell you my viewpoint on him.


	15. Chapter 15

Harry opened his eyes, and suddenly his plan of action was clear as a mountain spring. Without bothering to wake Giolla up, he began to pack his few possessions. Placing them in a bag and wrapped the strap of the bag around the handle of his broom. Harry laughed at the spectacle he must make, surely he looked like a homeless man from the books he used to read at primary school, hopping the trains. Within minutes, he was fighting against the branches that whipped around him in the wind. Only after he had gotten out of the forest, did it occur to him that he could have used his wand. He shrugged his shoulders; perhaps it was just as well. He looked up and down the street that he now stood on. Which way should he go? He didn't think he was off of Hogwarts grounds quite yet, so the chances that he would be able to apparate were slim. He also wasn't very fond of the feeling associated with apparating. Harry mentally flipped a coin and turned left. He walked along the road, the early morning air refreshing against his dirty face. He wiped the back of his hand across his forehead and grimaced as he looked at all the dirt that came away. After a few hours of walking, Harry sat down to rest, laying his possessions beside him. This was stupid. He couldn't walk the entire way! Harry looked up to the sky. It was a solid gray color and it must be nearing nine o'clock by now. Harry's eyes drifted over to his broom. Harry mentally pictured a light bulb above his head suddenly illuminating. That was it! Harry mounted his broom and shot to the air. He wished that he knew the Disillusionment Charm that Moody had used, but he didn't. He flew to above the clouds. Within moments, his robes were soaking and his teeth were chattering. Every now and then, he ducked below the clouds to see where he was going. He hoped that he knew where he was going, but he wasn't sure. After all, he had never made this trek before. Just as the sun was setting, he recognized a dingy neighborhood. He flew over an alleyway and landed. He thought hard about an address and a house suddenly appeared in between number eleven and number thirteen Grimmauld Place. Harry walked around to the front door and carefully opened it so as to not make a sound. Once inside, he tiptoed down the hallway and up the stairs. Once in the bedroom he used to share with Ron, he flopped on the nearest bed and sighed. Everything was left how it was before they had gone charging into The Battle. It was almost painful to see so many remnants of the happier days. True, they were tense and worrisome days, but at least they were filled with friends. He walked around the dark, dusty house, fingering a few relics of those days, a piece of parchment, a broken quill, and a few scattered books. Harry grabbed one of the books that was opened and glanced over the page. It was the potion book Hermione and Ginny had been working out of for weeks before The Battle. They pre made potions so that each fighter could carry a few various vials so that they could minimize the deaths on the field that could have been prevented. A piece of parchment fell from between the next couple of pages. Harry picked it up and read Hermione's tiny scrawl.

_June 16, _

_Wound-cleaning Potion – 15 treatments in 15 vials_

_Burn-Healing Paste – 3 Kilos in 15 bottles_

_Blood Replenishing Potion – 40 treatments in 20 vials_

_Calming Draught – 30 treatments in 15 vials_

Harry's eyes roved down the list. He imagined Hermione sitting at the table, her nose inches from the parchment as she painstakingly took an inventory of everything she and Ginny had made over the days. Her eyes would droop and she'd shake herself awake once again, at two in the morning. Harry sighed and put the book back on the table. He read the spines of a few other books; they were all books about defensive spells, dueling techniques, and other things the Order had used to prepare themselves for the war. Harry carefully placed all of the books back exactly where they were. No one would know he was here. He turned around and began to creep towards the stair. The picture frame with curtains in front of it still hung on the wall, stubbornly refusing to get off. Burn marks showed around the edges of the frame, along with a few tracks of what looked like a sticky black substance. They had tried nearly everything to get the stupid portrait of Mrs. Black, but they just couldn't. Seamus had wound up at St. Mungo's with a particularly bad burn when he tried to blast it off of the wall. Harry laughed as he remembered the spat that followed Seamus' return from the hospital.

"_Really Seamus, you were stupid to even try!" Hermione shouted as soon as the young man walked through the front door, his left arm in a sling._

"_BLOOD TRAITORS!" The curtains flew apart and the woman in the picture behind the curtains screamed at the top of her lungs, her forehead creased in fury._

"_Like you had a better idea!" Seamus retaliated. _

_Remus rushed into the room and tried to wrench the curtains shut. "Guys, be quiet!" he urged. The curtains pulled at Remus' arms and stayed open, billowing in the portrait's rage._

_Seamus clenched his fists, but refused to hit a girl. Hermione on the other hand, had other ideas. She slapped him across the face. "You're the one who ended up in the hospital! _My_ ideas never did _that_! And as a matter of fact, _yes_ my ideas were and are better! I'm going to have that portrait off by tomorrow!" _

"_I'll believe that when I see it!" Semaus laughed. _

"_Just you wait, Seamus Finnigan!" Hermione said, shaking her finger at him. _

"_Guys, shut up and go somewhere else!" Remus pleaded desperately as he fought with the formidable Mrs. Black. _

"_Let's make this interesting," Seamus suggested quietly._

"_I'm listening," Hermione said coolly. _

"_When I get it off, you admit you were wrong, and apologize to me," Seamus said. "And pay me fifty galleons," he added after a brief pause. _

"_And when I get it off first?" Hermione demanded. Remus sighed from behind the pair as he was finally able to shut the curtains. He walked back into the kitchen, leaving the two teenagers to finish their bet._

"_Doesn't matter, that will never happen," Seamus informed Hermione smugly. _

"_You dirty little-" Hermione shouted. At that moment, Mrs. Black decided to make her presence known again and began screaming at the top of her lungs, drowning out what Hermione said, but it was surely a word Mrs. Weasely would have had a problem with. Remus raced back into the hallway and glared at the two ex-students. Hermione huffed at Remus and turned back to Seamus. She glared at him, cold fire rushing in her eyes. He returned the stare, and Hermione spun on her heel and stalked off to her office, a spare bedroom on the third floor, her haven. Seamus glared after her retreating back as if daring her to return to their argument. He sighed and walked into the kitchen when Hermione turned the corner in the stairs. _

Harry laughed a little. Those two got on each other's nerves almost as Hermione and Ron. He sighed and continued up to his room. Once there, he dumped the few things he had brought with him from the campsite onto the small bed. His Firebolt rolled to rest neatly in the center of the bed, as if it was taking a nap to rest from the long arduous journey it had just taken. Harry looked around the room, welcoming the familiarity. Before he was ready to go, Harry turned around and walked out of the room, his hands loosely in his pockets. He left the house and stood in the dingy front yard. He looked around to make sure he was absolutely alone before closing his eyes and concentrating. He felt an odd sensation, one that left him feeling a bit queasy. Harry opened his eyes and drank in the welcoming sight in front of him. He looked around the area as the sunset behind him washed the land in light. Harry smiled while his eyes roved up and down the building in front of him. He hadn't been sure about this…until now. Harry held his head high and began the short walk down the path of stones, scattering chickens as he went, to the front door of his home away from Hogwarts, the Burrow.

**Author's Note:** Well, here you guys go. I didn't get as good of a response as I was hoping for, therefore I took longer to update cackle it's a direct relationship! Well, anyways, about the chapter. It's not as good or as long as I was dreaming, but hopefully it wasn't too bad.

Response to Reviews:  Well, as I said before, the response wasn't as good as I was hoping. After getting 15 reviews for chapter 13, chapter 14 was slightly dismal with only 9 reviews for nearly the same number of hits sighs hopefully this chapter will spark a few more reviewers.

Anonymous Reviews: I did get two of these this time around.

_Lil' Evil_ (I assume you know the rest, I refuse to have profanity in my chapters) – well, I updated. Glad you liked the story!

_Emily_ – nice and simple name to type, I approve :) anyways…Harry might eventually go home…. might, and I'm super glad you liked my story!And hope you liked "the next chapter"

Common Concerns: no one seems to like Erik…. hmmm I wonder why!

Everyone seems to want Harry to come home…. no surprise there!

Other than that, there weren't any other questions that seemed common. Again, if you have a question about the story…. ask and you shall (maybe) receive (an answer)…. if you have a concern about my consistency…. tell me and I'll try and fix the problem…. if you have anything that you think is wrong (facts from the book, spelling, word usage) please let me know, I'm trying to live and learn, thank you!


	16. Chapter 16

Ginny walked along the hallways, her feet gliding over the flagstone floor. She moved quickly and gracefully. It was dinnertime and she was the only one roving the halls. She didn't really want anyone around. Her friends thought she was at the library working on some homework she had failed to do because of Quidditch tryouts. They weren't exactly far wrong. Ginny was going to do some work that involved home. The fact that the work was writing a letter was beside the point. Her mother had plainly stated that she wanted a correspondence from Ginny every three days, 'to ensure she was safe,' as her mother had said. Ginny's thoughts strayed back to her friends who were enjoying a delicious dinner. They were most likely laughing and having a good time. Ginny wanted to tell them how worried she was about Harry, how confused she was about Erik, how much she wanted to quit school, and in general, how sad she had been feeling lately. Howver, she didn't think she could. Her friends would tell her to cheer up and forget about Harry. 'He'll be home soon enough,' was what they kept telling her. Ginny didn't want to hear that. She just wanted someone to listen to her fears, her hopes, her worries, but none of her friends would listen like Hermione and Harry had. All her friends wanted to do was to tell Ginny just how she should be feeling.

She rounded the last corner and walked into the owlery. She opened the door and was assaulted with a wash of orange light as it drifted into the room in shafts. Above her, owls were beginning to wake up to go hunting for the night. Before she called down two owls, she walked over the dirty floor to the western window. The orange sky was beautiful. Ginny wished she could be an owl and fly into the sunset, alone, but free. She watched the sun set for a minute or two and then she turned around and called down Hedwig and a school barn owl. Hedwig promptly stuck out her leg with the school owl reluctantly following suit. Ginny ignored the two owls and unrolled one of the two pieces of parchment she was carrying. She read it one last time to make sure that she was certain she really wanted to tie this to the owl's leg. Once the owl was gone, there was no going back.

_Dear Erik, _

_I understand that you have been trying very hard to make our relationship work, however, it just isn't working. I can't do this to Harry. I just get this gut feeling every time we're together that I'm doing something wrong. I know it isn't wrong to love and to be with someone after being dumped, but Harry never officially dumped me. Maybe he really is coming home and will be expecting me to be waiting for him. I don't think I could break his heart by having him come home and getting the slap in the face of me going out with you. He's had a rough year; I just couldn't do it. Your past affiliations won't help the situation either._

_Now, before you start yelling at me about how I should forget about Harry and go after what _my_ heart tells me, Harry is not the only reason you and I she stop being together. Although, Harry is where my heart is trying to go right now, I'm sorry. Our age difference is a little too much to bear at this moment. After all, I am seventeen, barely of age, and you're already twenty. Hermione was right, that just isn't right. I'm young still; I'm not ready for the commitment you're probably looking for._

_Also, I really need to focus on my studies. If I bring my grades up, for they are beginning to get pretty bad, and Harry is still not home when I graduate, and you are still around, I could see us trying once again. However, the current situation of both of our lives really does not permit the two of us to be together. _

_I am truly sorry. I hope you understand why I am doing this._

_Your friend,_

_Ginny_

Ginny rolled the parchment back up and sighed. She really liked Erik, but it just wasn't going to work out, for either one of them. Ginny took the ribbon out of her hair and used it to tie the roll closed. She motioned to the gray barn owl who flew over to her arm. He slowly extended his leg and looked at her with a somber amber eye.

"I'm sorry, but I would really appreciate it if you would deliver this to Erik. You know whom I mean," Ginny said apologetically as she tied the parchment to the owl's scaly leg. Hedwig hooted indignantly. "Don't worry, you've got one coming, and yours is more important," Ginny said absentmindedly as she read over the second piece of parchment.

_Mum,_

_Seventh year and I just aren't getting along well. I won't lie to you, my grades keep getting worse, Quidditch is more time absorbing than I thought it would be. By the time I finish with practice and planning for the next practice and creating new plays, I'm too tired for school. And my friends have been so busy with their own schoolwork. Don't tell me that school should come first, either. I know that, but I also have a duty to my team and my house._

_I can shout to the hills_

_Yet no one will hear a word_

_Let me yell of my sorrow_

_And cry of my pain_

_But no one will listen_

_Because no one hears a sound_

_There's no one out there_

_No one in the hills_

_No one in the mountains_

_The valleys and meadows_

_Ring with the emptiness_

_The emptiness of no one_

_For there's no one out there_

_That wants to hear a word_

_That may escape my lips_

_So I'll shout' til I hurt_

_I'll cry until I'm dry_

_But it'll be for naught_

_Because no one's out there_

_No one wants to_

_No one will_

_No one there to care_

_Goodbye,_

_Ginny_

Ginny rolled the parchment back up and tapped it with her wand. The roll immediately became seamless. Ginny motioned to Hedwig and she promptly flew over to Ginny and held her leg out. Ginny tied the parchment to Hedwig's leg. Ginny then held out her arm and allowed the two owls to ride her arm over to the window. She looked at each in turn. "You know where you're going. Please, fly quickly. I want these letters delivered soon. Thank you." Ginny thrust her arm towards the west-facing window. The two owls flew into the horizon. Ginny leaned her elbows on the windowsill and cradled her chin in her hands. She stood like this even after the black specks disappeared into the blood red sky. She thought about how wonderful it would be to fly away like those owls had, to spread her wings and soar, to fly away from her problems. Ginny sighed one last time and reluctantly walked across the circular, drafty room. Her dejected feet carried her all the way to her common room where she tiredly pulled out a long roll of parchment. She looked at it for a minute then wrote with large handwriting that was larger than normal: _The Effects of Valerian Roots in the Draught of the Living Dead_. Ginny chewed on the end of her quill as she tried to remember what the professor had said about too much valerian in the potion.

**Author's Note:** Well, there's another chapter. I realize it wasn't the chapter you were hoping for where Harry comes home…. but I decided to be a little more evil. I have two one shots posted. I am rather saddened by the fact that each has only 4 reviews, three of which on one of them are my friends. So, a new challenge since you reached the 130 reviews commendably. I would like between the two one shots to have 16 reviews, that's 8 new reviews total. So, while you're wating for Harry to come home, you can read those other stories. I don't care which one(s) you R&R, I'm just asking that you do. Yes, I realize that I'm being evil yet again…and I'm sorry, but I'd really like some more input on my one shots. Thank you smiles

Response to Reviews: Wow, I had nine reviews within 24 hours of updating! I am so happy! And 80 hits, that's wonderful, I'm very happy. And your reviews for the most part were high quality (where you comment on things instead of just saying "great job, update soon!") thank you again!

Anonymous Reviews: (none)

Common Concerns: Big surprise, everyone noticed that the review count reached my goal smiles but like I said before, I put one more requirement up before Harry comes home…sorry!

k


	17. Chapter 17

Mrs. Weasely looked anxiously at the clock. It was nearing ten o'clock. Bill had been due home for over an hour already. He had said he was going to work late tonight, but she was starting to worry about him. He knew how worried she got, and he promised he would be home by nine at the latest. He never forgot about the time and he was always punctual. She turned back to the stove and stirred the contents of the pot slowly. Despite her steady movements, her foot was tapping anxiously. Mrs. Weasely wasn't sure how much longer she could keep dinner waiting for her eldest son. There was a tap at the window. Mrs. Weasely looked up quickly. Her face clouded with even more worry. Maybe it was an owl from St. Mungo's. Perhaps he was finally coming home from St. Mungo's. Arthur had been hit with a curse during The Battle, and as of yet, no one could bring him out of his magical coma. The healers said that if he didn't wake up soon, they might have to drain him of his magic, thereby hopefully waking him up. Apparently, the curse with which he was hit overloaded his magic and blacked him out. Mrs. Weasely couldn't imagine Arthur going through life without his magic, he used so nonchalantly. His job required the use of his magic. The Ministry had been helping the large family with money, but it wasn't enough to do more than barely get by. Bill had helped out by moving back in and selling his house to help the family get by, but Mrs. Weasely didn't like tying her son down. He deserved to live on his own, find a new girl to settle down with; he couldn't mope about Fleur for forever. Mrs. Weasely figured she might be able to get a job herself, but she wasn't sure how much she could make. She shook her head and brought herself out of her reverie and looked at the owl that was trying hover outside the small kitchen window.

Mrs. Weasely gasped in shock, when the shadowy owl was lit from the light of the kitchen. It was Hedwig. She took the pot off the stove; she didn't want to burn anything and hurried to let the owl in. Once the window was opened, Hedwig fluttered inside and landed on the kitchen table, eyeing the contents of the pot, trying to decide whether or not it was edible. She turned her head back to Mrs. Weasely, hooted softly, and held out her leg, on which a small piece of parchment was tied. Mrs. Weasely eyed the roll of parchment like a child looking at her colorfully wrapped Christmas presents. Mrs. Weasely tried to calm her shaking hands as she thought of what the letter might hold. Surely this meant Harry was on his way home!

Mrs. Weasely gently untied the parchment, handling it as if it were some sacred document. She turned it in her hands to see to whom it was addressed to. She wanted nothing more than to open this letter from the last missing member of her family, though. Her face fell however, when she recognized the handwriting not as a messy young man's scrawl, but as her daughter's unique writing style addressed to "Mum". Much disheartened, Mrs. Weasely tapped the cylinder of parchment with her wand. The magical seal broke apart and the parchment unrolled itself. Dutifully, Mrs. Weasely settled herself to read the report from her daughter. After all, she had requested Ginny to send her a letter at least once a week, telling her how her daughter was faring her seventh year at Hogwarts. Her face fell even more though as she read what she thought was going to be a quick letter describing her daughter's classes. By the end of the letter, her hands were shaking again and her eyes were brimming with tears. Mrs. Weasely fell limply into a kitchen chair that sat at the scrubbed table. She held a hand to her eyes. Her daughter was in danger. Worse than that, she was going to kill herself! Mrs. Weasely knew it was unfair to him, but she blamed Harry. If he hadn't been so selfish by running away and not keeping and touch, Ginny wouldn't be in this mess. She rubbed her eyes lightly and stood up with shaking knees. She had to get to Hogwarts. There was no question about it. Her daughter was in mortal peril and she had to protect her family like she had done for many years. Her new determination gave her strength, but not enough to quell her trembling. She moved unsteadily towards the living room where she could floo over to Hogwarts and her poor daughter. She reached her hand into the pot that held the floo powder, vaguely noting that they needed to buy more floo powder. Her hazy mind numbly recognized the sound of someone knocking at the door. Why didn't her son just walk in? This was his home, Mrs. Weasely thought without interest; her mind was concerned with other things, not surprisingly.

"Bill, come quickly…" she called out in a shaky voice. The only response was another three knocks on the front door. "Oh, for heaven's sake Bill! The door's not locked!" she exclaimed as she put the pinch of floo powder back and walked towards the door. She opened it and saw her son's shadow. She couldn't see his face because the setting sun was in her eyes, but she knew it was her son from his straight back and long hair. "Honestly, knocking at a time like this, in the middle of a crisis!" The figure remained in the doorway. Mrs. Weasely pulled on his arm. "Bill-" she started, but stopped with her mouth hanging open when she saw who was in front of her. He had just stepped into the light of the house. She bit back a scream of horror. "You're not Bill," she said faintly. The face was sickening to look at. The poor boy! She didn't recognize him, but he looked like he could use a few good square meals. She was just about to offer the poor boy a bath and her eldest son's waiting dinner with the promise of a warm bed afterwards, but stopped. A look of contemplation crossed her face. Behind the grime and sullen face, she recognized the boy in front of her. Was he a friend of Ron's? She open and closed her mouth several times. She didn't know what to say to him. His robes were ripped and his hair was matted. His eyes looked like they had seen more horror than anyone, let alone someone so young, should have seen. His face was marred beyond comparison. The deep gash that ran down his cheek looked like it was in danger of being infected. A pink line above his eye looked like it would take years to disappear, if it would. His lips were chapped as if he hadn't had enough to drink in ages. Her eyes swept critically up and down the boy, looking for other indicators of his health. His hands were just as scratched as his face, but they looked like they'd heal, unlike many marks on his face. Her eyes reached his face once again. His shoulder length hair looked knotted and she saw traces of crushed leaves and pine needles in it. She saw something dark clumping hairs together; she had the sickening idea that it might be blood. This boy had seen a better day of that she was certain. Despite her current financial predicament, she promised herself that she would care for this young man as if he were her son until he was well enough to be on his own. She looked into his green eyes, startling green eyes that hid behind scratched glasses. There was something about the green eyes that made her stare. And the black hair that covered parts of his face… She recognized this man. It was…it couldn't be, but it was!

"Miss me?" he asked hopefully, smiling awkwardly at Mrs. Weasely's evident joy.

**Author's note:** Well, there's _the_ chapter. This is the chapter where I officially call Harry home. Thank you to those of you who dealt with me, and even reviewed my one-shots! The end of the story is in sight now. I hope you're enjoying it so far! I have a lot of the chapters already written, and they're just waiting for editing, so hopefully I can turn chapters out a lot faster now.

Response to Reviews: As much as I love having so many reviews, and the ones saying how wonderful my story is :P…I'd also like (I know this sounds greedy, and I apologize) but I'd also like a few more people telling me how to make the chapters better. The number of reviews to hits wasn't as good as it was last chapter, but still quite respectable.

General Concerns: Look everybody, I'm really sorry I didn't bring Harry home when I got my 130 reviews, I really wanted to. But to be honest, I wasn't expecting to get so many reviews so fast. I had that chapter all planned out…and it needed to be there. So I apologize that I fell short on my promise. To make up for it, I'll try to keep the updates more consistent, and I'll try to keep my promises. Again, I'm sorry.

Anonymous Reviews: Just one this time!

Emily- I'm sorry I'm so mean. (Please see above note in General Concerns) A lot of people were happy to see Ginny end "What ever it was" with Erik. I hope you keep reading my story, even though I'm mean 0:)


	18. Chapter 18

"Hermione, can I talk to you?" Ginny asked as she approached the older girl at breakfast. Hermione turned around and looked up at Ginny. The older girl nodded her head, scooted closer to the first year on her other side and made room for the redhead between herself and Ron. Ginny sat down. She paused a moment while she picked at the hem on her robe sleeve. Ron looked at his sister, but continued eating when she didn't say anything. Hermione put her fork down and brushed her fingertips together to get the crumbs from her toast off of them.

"What is it?" Hermione prompted.

"Harry…" Ginny started. There was a snort from where Ron sat. Hermione glared at the boy through Ginny and kicked his leg under the bench. Ron reached down and put his hand protectively over the forming bruise. She kicked hard! Ron scooted a little closer to the sixth year girl on his other side, out of kicking range of Hermione. The girl looked at Ron and scooted away from him, giggling with her friends. Ron reached over and slid his food closer to him, returning to the art of eating scrambled eggs.

"Go on," Hermione said kindly. "What about Harry?"

"Do you think he's coming home?" Ginny asked uncertainly. She looked up from her school robes and looked at Hermione in the eye. "Be honest."

Ron looked up from his scrambled eggs and gave Hermione a look. He didn't want Hermione to go getting his little sister's hopes up. Hermione looked at Ron defiantly, and without taking her gaze away from him said, "Absolutely."

"Should I chase him down?" Ginny asked. "He should be home by now, this is unhealthy to be alone for so long," she added.

"No, just give him time. I'm sure he'll come to his senses soon enough. That is if the search teams don't find him first. Just study hard, and before you know it, he'll be home, begging for forgiveness," Hermione said confidently. Ginny thought longingly about how wonderful it would be to have an ounce of Hermione's confidence.

"Have either one of you thought that maybe he's dead?" Ron proposed. Hermione and Ginny gasped simultaneously at his suggestion. "Ginny, what was the last letter you got from him?" he asked his sister.

"He gave me Hedwig, saying he'd have no more use for her," Ginny said. Suddenly the weight of the words sunk in and she looked back down at her lap. "He killed himself," she said with grim resolution.

"Now hold on! Harry wouldn't do that!" Hermione hissed.

"How do you know?" Ron asked. "The people that are out there looking for him are the best of the best. If he were alive, don't you think they would've found him by now?" Hermione sadly noted the pain in his eyes. Ron didn't want to think that his best friend would do something so horrendous, but he wanted to be prepared for the worse news he may get and the evidence was there.

"Because I know," Hermione said firmly. Ron looked at her sadly before returning to his breakfast, Hermione got the eerie idea that Ron knew something that she didn't, and that something had to do with Harry. Hermione shook off the feeling and looked back to Ginny. "Ginny, trust me, Harry will be home before you know it. Just focus on your grades, and Harry will be home," she repeated.

Ginny looked doubtfully at her older friend. "You sound like a parent trying to get her young child to go to bed on Christmas Eve. 'Go to sleep and Santa will come!'" Ginny said. Hermione blushed slightly. "But this time the kid's not going to sleep because she knows there's no such thing as Santa," Ginny continued sadly.

Ginny turned in her seat and faced her brother. "Ron, what do you think, and be honest. You don't really think that Harry killed himself."

Ron shifted in his seat uncomfortably. "Ginny, Harry was my best mate, but give up on him." Ginny opened her mouth to protest, but Ron held his hand up to stop her. "You can do better than that slime ball. Think about it. He disappeared. He gave you no idea when he'd be back or even if he'd be back. The only time he's sent you a letter since he left was when he gave you a note that could lead one to think he was going to kill himself. Ginny, you're better than that!" Ron said forcefully.

"How could you say that about Harry?" Ginny asked, shocked.

"I told you, he _was_ my best mate. Perhaps it's just as well he left. Now we all know what a prat he is to you and to me. It's time to move on, Ginny." Ginny opened her mouth once more to protest, but Ron interrupted. "So, how did Quidditch tryouts go?"

Ginny sighed and resigned herself to the drastic subject change. "I found no one…this year won't be as good as past years."

"How so?" Ron prompted, wanting to keep the non-Harry subject going for as long as possible.

"First of all, I don't even have a Seeker yet. Second of all, no one comes close to being as good as any one person on Harry's team." Ginny said sadly. Ron sighed, so much for staying away from the idea of Harry. He should have known better; Harry and Quidditch went together like Hagrid and monsters.

"Well it won't matter if you don't bring your grades up!" Hermione said from behind her copy of the Daily Prophet that had just been dropped off.

"Hermione!" Ginny protested.

"Hermione, give her a break, she'll manage," Ron said. Ginny rolled her eyes as the two started to argue over her grades. She honestly didn't see how they stayed friends with all their arguing.

"Guys!" Ginny finally interrupted after a minute.

"What?" they asked at the same time. Ginny tried to hide a smile as she pointed to the head table. Rashida was motioning them over.

"Oh! I can't believe I forgot!" Hermione exclaimed.

"Forgot what?" Ron asked.

"We were supposed to get our new house assignments this morning!" Hermione exclaimed, rolling her newspaper up and standing up. Ron stood up and followed her. Ginny watched them go, laughing to herself. She still didn't think Ron knew why he had to go see Rashida.

Up at the head table, Ron and Hermione met up with Katie, Roger, and Rashida. "So how was the first rotation going for house assignments?" Rashida asked.

"Great! The Hufflepuffs weren't nearly as boisterous as the Gryffindors were in my day!" Katie said.

"All the Ravenclaws do is study...it's actually kind of boring in there," Roger confessed. "I don't remember being such a nerd!"

"No problems in Slytherin," Hermione said, shrugging her shoulders. Ron bit back a laugh. He found it hard to believe that there were actually no problems. Hermione probably just didn't want Rashida to think she couldn't manage the Slytherins.

"And I assume there were no problems with the Gryffindors," Rashida said.

"None, no more Fred and George to make it exciting," Ron said.

"Well then in that case, we'll rotate houses until each of you have had a chance to be in each house during your off hours. Then, I'll let you four argue over who gets which house. You will then be like heads of houses, but you'll hopefully be closer to the students so that they'll feel more comfortable telling you if they notice something amiss.

"These next several days I'd like Hermione to be in Gryffindor, Roger in Hufflepuff, Katie in Ravenclaw, and Ron in Slytherin. Same rules, or lack there of apply. I expect you to be in your assigned house in the evenings, in the morning at some point, and in the afternoon at some point. On weekends, I would appreciate it if you could spend a little extra time in your house. Other than that, you're welcome to enjoy yourself in friend's houses, in the halls, or wherever else you so choose. I don't want to hamper your newfound freedom of being graduated students! Now, I'm sorry to have interrupted your breakfast. You are welcome to continue eating." The four students returned to their seats of before.

When Hermione and Ron sat down, Hermione noticed an evil look on Ron's face. "Ronald! Don't you dare go abusing your position!" she chided him before he could say anything.

He looked at her, pretending to be hurt. "Hermione! Who said I was going to abuse my position?" he exclaimed.

"The look on your face. You're going to go and punish the Slytherins if they blink wrong," she predicted.

"They might be plotting something evil," Ron defended. Hermione looked at him sternly.

"We're here for the students to trust! They can't do that if they hate you!" she exclaimed exasperated. Ginny looked to her brother, expecting a reply. It was like watching a tennis match, looking from one side to the other, swiveling her head.

"Just you wait! One of these days a Slytherin will blink and kill someone," Ron said. Ginny rolled her eyes at her brother's pathetic response. She looked up and noticed how empty the Great Hall had gotten. She looked at her watch.

She was late! "It's not that I don't want to keep watching you two bicker, but I have to get to class," Ginny said, gathering her bag and grabbing a last piece of buttered toast.

Hermione looked up and blinked at Ginny. Coming out of her brief stupor, she hustled Ginny along. "Absolutely! Come on; hurry up! You don't want to be late!" Hermione followed Ginny out of the Great Hall and Ron stood up to follow them. He wanted to send a letter to the Ministry to see if they had heard any news on Harry Potter and had simply failed to report anything to the Daily Prophet. Hermione hadn't mentioned anything, so he assumed that meant there ad been nothing in the newspaper yet again.

**AN:** Well there you go, one more chapter! Sorry, but I've been ridiculously busy…as always, so I guess it's not ridiculous for me…ah well, moving on. So what did you think of this chapter? How was the flow? Does it make sense? What questions should be answered in coming chapters? What plot holes exist thus far? Is anything inconsistent? Those are just a few of the many questions that I would appreciate if you would consider when writing your review, please and thank you!

Response To Reviews: Not bad at all! 13 reviews within 217 hits. Not our best, but it's up there. I challenge you to an all time record this chapter. I want 20 reviews! I bet you can do it!

Anonymous Reviews: Just one this time

harrypotterchick4ever-thanks for reviewing. Yeah, a lot of people want Harry to get better soon….we'll see about that one, and we'll see with him getting back together. Sorry I can't be more precise…

General Concerns: Well other than everybody being happy that Harry is finally home and the shortness of my chapters and the length of my paragraphs, there really isn't anything else that was expressed more than once or twice…keep reviewing and keep asking questions! Theories are also awesome to put in reviews…. as well are ideas…. actually EVERYTHING is good to put in reviews! I'm not picky! Wow….that sounded pathetic…ah well!


	19. Chapter 19

"Harry," Mrs. Weasely breathed softly. She smiled as she rushed to hug him close, disregarding the layers of grime and the stench. Harry reveled in the feeling of being loved again, but all too soon Mrs. Weasely pulled away. She looked at him sternly and slapped him soundly across his face. Harry reached up and touched his stinging cheek gently. He looked at her, confused. Was he really that hideous? Was he wrong to come home? Mrs. Weasely, seeing the boy's hurt and confusion, rushed to hug him. She started to apologize to him, but she dissolved into tears.

"What's wrong?" Harry asked. Why was this woman crying on his shoulder?

"Save her?" Mrs. Weasely pleaded. She looked imploringly into his green eyes.

Harry couldn't bear to see Mrs. Weasely look at him like this. "Okay," he consented. He waited for the woman to give him a better idea about whom he was supposed to save, but she only pushed him towards the fireplace.

"Save my baby," she said dolefully. Harry took a pinch of floo powder and threw it in the fire.

He was just about to ask Mrs. Weasely where he was supposed to go when he put two and two together. Ginny. Without another moment's hesitation, he stepped into the fire and called out, "Hogwarts!" The last sight of the Burrow he saw was of Mrs. Weasely kneeling on the floor, crying.

Harry fell out of a fireplace. A quick look around told him he was in the Great Hall. He stood up and brushed himself off. He took his glasses off of his face and stowed them in his pocket. They were now broken at the bridge, and glasses that were broken and scratched did him no good whatsoever. He started running along the path his feet knew so intimately. Surely by this time Ginny would be in the common room.

Within moments, Harry sat panting outside of the Fat Lady's portrait. He went to tell her the password, and he realized that he didn't know the password. He heard footsteps and Harry sunk into the nearby shadows. A first year Gryffindor walked up to the portrait. "Dillywort," the girl said. Harry waited until he heard the portrait close before coming out of the shadows.

"Oh my! Look at your robes! Where on earth have you been? Wait…do I-"

"Dillywort," Harry said, interrupting the portrait's thought process before she thought to raise the alarm that a strange man was lurking the hallway. The portrait swung open, revealing the entrance to the common room. Harry clambered through.

Ginny looked up from the essay she was trying to write on her lap to see who had just walked in. Before Harry could blink, she had her wand out and pointed at him. Harry was shocked, though he kept his face emotionless. Ropes came shooting out of the girl's wand even though she hadn't said a word. He easily deflected the spell with a wave of his hand. The ropes fell limply to the floor and Harry began to walk slowly to the red haired girl. She threw her books upon the floor and with one more fearful glance behind her, ran to her dormitory. Harry entertained the thought of going after her, but soon remembered the slide the stairs turned into. He stared after her retreating back, trying to understand why she had run from him.

He heard the portrait swing open again, but he ignored it. "Ron you're not supposed to punish Slytherins randomly! The poor boy was studying and you gave him detention for looking sinister! Of course he looked upset, you made his best friend do lines for- what was it? Oh yeah, for talking about a pet snake!" a patronizing tone said exasperatedly. Harry turned around. The boy with red hair stared over the girl with bushy hair. Harry watched the boy's face as he tried to comprehend what was in front of him. The boy took a step forward but stopped and instead took a step back, landing him where he started. The girl with brown hair noticed her friend's odd attitude. She turned around to see what he was staring at. After a second of a shocked silence, Harry braced himself for impact as the girl hurtled towards him. "HARRY!" she cried in jubilance. He grunted as she made impact. Her arms wrapped around his chest and she squeezed him as if to make sure he was really there. Harry stood there, not pushing the girl away but not hugging her back.

The boy walked slowly up to his two friends and closed his eyes slightly and looked Harry in the eye. Harry broke eye contact first. "See Ron, I told you he'd come home!" Hermione said breathlessly, finally releasing Harry. Ron continued to look at Harry as if Harry weren't really there, and was just a really good imposter. After what seemed like an eternity to Harry, Ron offered his hand to Harry, who shook it.

"Welcome home," Ron said quietly. Harry pushed Ron's cold demeanor from his mind as Hermione pulled him to the couch.

"Where have you been?" Hermione asked anxiously.

"Yeah 'cause you look like h-"

"You look awful," Hermione broke in, interrupting what Ron was going to say. Harry looked down, holding his hands in front of his face. He sat down on the couch and Ron and Hermione sat down on either side of him.

"I don't get it," he said finally. He looked at each of his friends in turn. "I should be happy. I won the final battle. What's left?" he asked them. He sighed heavily and closed his eyes.

"No, I don't think you have," Hermione said after a moment of thought. Harry's eyes shot open and he looked at Hermione incredulously.

"What are you talking about?" Ron demanded. "Harry killed Voldemort!" he added like that explained everything.

"But look at him," Hermione said, gesturing vaguely at Harry. Harry looked at his two friends who were staring back at him. He couldn't bear to see their looks of sympathy and he looked down at his lap. He inspected his fingernails, a bad idea since they had been neglected for too long.

"Oh," Ron said quietly.

Harry looked up at them and asked defensively, "What?"

"Your wallowing in self pity and self hate, until you overcome that, you will never be the same," Hermione informed him matter-of-factly.

Harry looked at Hermione. "But…" he started.

"She's right you know?" Ron said, shrugging his shoulders helplessly.

"No, I don't know!" Harry said heatedly.

Ron and Hermione looked at each other. They should have expected this. "Harry…" Ron began, pleading Harry to understand.

"Shut up, Ron," Harry said, shaking his head.

"Harry, really, look at you!" Hermione said exasperatedly. She was tired of trying to reason with someone who was obviously uninterested in reasoning.

"Yeah, I know, I'm ugly," Harry said bitterly. He hung his head. "Giolla was wrong, you do care," he added sadly. He had been stupid to think his friends would overlook his disfiguration.

"Giolla?" Hermione asked, picking up on the unrecognizable name.

"Doesn't matter, just leave me alone," Harry said quietly.

"Harry," Ron said in a strangled voice.

"Don't you know how miserable everyone was without you?" Hermione said, beginning to lose her patience, something that didn't usually happen. She never used to fight or get angry with Harry.

"Yeah, miserable... right, you were probably crying at the sight of me you were so upset," Harry said bitterly.

"Harry, it's not like that!" Hermione exclaimed. Her eyes bored into the side of Harry's head, willing him with all her heart to understand what it was like to not know anything about Harry's whereabouts.

"Shut up Hermione," Harry said, meeting her imploring gaze. "Both of you just shut up!" Harry repeated, looking at Ron now. Ron looked sadly at Harry. Hermione sighed heavily. Harry looked at each of his friends one last time and growled. He thrust himself out of his seat and stormed out of the common room, knocking papers and inkbottles as he went. When a click signaled the closing of the portrait, Hermione and Ron met eyes. Ron's blue eyes were filled with a knowing pain, the pain of someone who had guarded himself against such pain and managed to find himself suffering anyway. Hermione's brown eyes showed an intense distraught feeling. They sighed heavily together and left each to his or her own thoughts.

**Author's Note:** Yes, I do have a valid excuse this time, though some may still be angry, and to everyone I apologize. For the past week, I have been waking up, going to school and staying there until ten (I was in charge of sound for the play my school did). Then, in my spare time…. which came out of sleep, I've been trying to keep up with my homework, and memorize my lines and movements for a skit I performed at my church this morning. So I apologize, but this was my first chance since a week and a half ago to update. I'm really sorry.

Response To Reviews: Not too bad I suppose. I didn't get the twenty I wanted, I got thirteen, which is pretty good, but I'm starting to get greedy now that the story's moving on, and I'm more concerned about how it's all fitting together (or not). So please review, I'm begging you! (Well, asking politely)

Anonymous Reviews: There was one for chapter 18, but I also received two reviews from the same person, but different chapters. In the hope that that person is still reading, I will respond to those reviews as well.

RomanClassic: Yeah, I'm sorry about not answering the cliffhanger, but you got a little situational irony, which helps you understand the characters Ron, Hermione, and Ginny a little better I hope.

Kenneth: I'm going to respond to both of your reviews at once. I know I promised a happy ending, and by chapter ten, that promise seems unlikely, but trust me, there is a happy ending on the way. As for your other two points (Harry's looks and someone getting hurt) I can't promise anything, but just remember, the ending is indeed a happy one. I hope you're still reading this!


	20. Chapter 20

Harry opened his eyes groggily. It had felt so good to sleep in a real bed for an entire, uninterrupted, night. He looked around the large room without much interest. He was just starting to sit up when a thin woman walked over. She looked at him severely and Harry fell back into the pillows, not wanting to attract attention. Surely there were rules against sneaking into the hospital wing for a night's rest. Unfortunately, the young woman had seen Harry and started to walk over to him. She glided smoothly over the floor and her young face looked innocent and caring, but her eyes were full of an imperious glare that stripped all pretences of her being easy to get along with. "First of all," she began, wagging her finger in his face. Her voice concluded Harry's thought that she was one to give orders, not take them. She had a no-nonsense tone that would obviously leave no room for argument or negotiating. "These beds are for admitted patients _only_. You cannot walk in here in the middle of the night and sleep in a bed! That is strictly prohibited! Second of all, you are going nowhere." The last part was said in a tone much more expected from a nurse. The first had sounded more like a teacher chastising an impudent student. Without waiting for a response from him, she picked up Harry's wrist. He limply let her check his pulse. Who was she?

"Who are you?" he asked the nurse as she began pouring potions into several goblets. Harry doubted he would ever understand the purpose of having so many potions. After all, he wasn't dying! He was just dirty and tired.

The door to the hospital wing was thrown open and in walked a woman with black hair and gray eyes. Her gold-rimmed glasses sparkled in the morning sunlight. Harry looked at the woman in confusion. It was like he woke up in a separate world. So far, he had seen two people of obvious importance, and he didn't know either one. The straight-backed woman strode to Harry's bed and looked down at the young man. Harry looked into her eyes and a pang of despair rose in his heart. There was no friendly twinkle in these eyes as there had been in Dumbledore's. He had been hoping that whoever she was would show the same kindness Dumbledore had shown when Harry woke up in the hospital wing. "Who are you?" she demanded sharply.

Harry, not one to readily give his identity away, fired the question right back. "Give me your name, and I might give you mine." The tall woman looked at him in clear vexation. She had other things to attend to.

"I'm Rashida Carpedium, Headmistress of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. And you are?"

Harry bit back a cry of alarm as her title sunk in. Apparently, McGonagal hadn't survived The Battle to run the school a second year. Harry's mind turned this piece of information around quickly. Who could say whether or not this woman could be trusted. Maybe that was why Ron and Hermione were here, along with Roger. Maybe they were undercover, attempting to take this woman out. Maybe she was a Death Eater looking for Harry, wanting to take revenge for her dead master. Deciding that he could always tell her his real name later, Harry lied. "Neville Longbottom," he said, still looking her in the eye, searching for a hint of who she really was.

"Impossible," she replied easily. "I personally attended the poor boy's funeral. I was a friend of his parents," she said. Harry couldn't help but open his eyes in shock. Neville dead? "Indeed. I'm sorry if he was a friend of yours. Although, if he were a friend of yours, I doubt you'd try to pass as him," she continued almost to herself.

Harry's mind raced. Should he tell this woman who he was, or should he lie again? Deciding upon the latter, he replied, "Stanley Shunpike." Rashida glared at him, as if hoping she would be able to tell if he were lying or not. Harry stared back defiantly, daring her to call his bluff.

Satisfied, Rashida moved on to her next question. "What are you doing in my school?" She crossed her arms across her chest and looked at him expectantly. Harry noted that she apparently didn't think he was a threat. With her arms crossed like that, it would take her nearly three times as long to get her wand ready.

"Because I wanted to learn," he answered lamely, at a loss for a better excuse.

"Try again, Mr. Shunpike," the professor said, tapping her foot impatiently. This interview was taking much more time than she had. This young intruder refused to give her a good answer first, something that was starting to greatly irk her.

"I needed someplace to go, my family is all dead," Harry said, deciding that a half-truth would be okay this time. Rashida's face instantly softened and she looked at him sorrowfully. Harry was surprised by the sudden transformation.

"Oh, I'm sorry, Stanley. No doubt they were killed by Death Eaters?" she asked sympathetically.

"You could say that," Harry replied vaguely. Voldemort could be considered the head Death Eater, he supposed.

"Do you have any siblings?" Rashida asked.

"No, I'm an only child," Harry said with a small shrug.

"Where do you plan on staying?"

"My godfather left me a house," Harry said truthfully. "I'm eighteen now, I can take care of myself." The last thing he wanted was charity from some stranger.

"So why Hogwarts? Why not your new home?" Rashida asked, her suspicious glare returning abruptly.

Too late, Harry noticed the mistake he had made. "Because I wanted to talk to my friends."

"Stanley, we have rules!" Rashida exclaimed. "You can't just waltz in here! Especially if you want to stay overnight, the hospital beds are for patients _only._"

"Professor," the nurse broke in. Harry jumped. He had forgotten the woman was still here.

"Yes Nakita?" Rashida asked, sighing. She did not appreciate being interrupted. When the young blonde seemed to hesitate at Rashida's formidable frown, the older woman softened her expression and tried to wait patiently.

"Mr. …Shunpike is now a patient of mine," the young woman said uncertainly. Her healer instincts wouldn't allow her to let this man leave her ward until she was sure of his health, both emotionally and physically.

"Yes, yes…but he still needs to understand the concept of rules," Rashida said. She turned back to Harry, ready to return to interrogating this trespasser.

The door into the ward opened a second time and Rashida rolled her eyes. Clearly, she was getting annoyed at being interrupted. "What do you want?" she asked as she whirled around. "Oh! Minister! Can I do something for you?" Harry looked curiously at the man who had just entered. He didn't recognize the man as Scrimgeour. Harry helplessly thought, perhaps Rufus had been killed as well. Who was left alive these days? Harry wanted to ask.

"Yes, you can. The Wizengamot decided to award Harry Potter the Order of Merlin, First Class. We thought that it would be most appropriate if the ceremony were held at Hogwarts, as he was a recent graduate," the man said. Harry tried not to look surprised at this. He wasn't supposed to be Harry Potter at this moment.

Rashida sighed heavily. "How many extra people will be coming?" she asked, mentally going through the extra security measures.

"The Weaselys, the Wizengamot, and anyone else Mr. Potter was particularly close to," he replied.

"And how do you suppose we go about finding people he was close to?" Rashida proposed. Harry had had no family left after all. His uncle had denounced his relation to the boy after 'Harry's lot' had murdered his wife.

"We'll ask the Weaselys. After all, he was a very good friend of the youngest boy…Robert or something," the minister said as if it were obvious.

"Ronald," Harry automatically corrected. The minister looked at the young man lying before him, his gray eyes taking in the boy's rugged appearance and a look of pity crossed his eyes.

"Yes, that's it. He was a friend of yours I suppose?" the minister asked, looking more closely at Harry's various wounds which the nurse had cleaned while Harry slept. Harry reached up and tried to flatten his hair against his forehead, but quickly stopped. His face was covered with enough scars; no one would notice a small one in the shape of a lightning bolt.

"Er, sort of," Harry said, thinking about the way Ron had looked at him the night before. Ron had been noticeably suspicious of Harry's identity, and he hadn't exactly been thrilled at Harry's return.

"Were you friends with Harry Potter as well?" the man prompted.

"You could say that," Harry shrugged.

"Well, you're welcome to attend the festivities. Who do you think Harry would like to accept the award for him?"

"No one," Harry said immediately.

"Someone has to accept the award!" the minister said, appalled by the thought of no one accepting the prestigious award.

"I don't think I-he would like to have the award at all," Harry said, nearly forgetting to talk about himself in the third person. When he had been a student, Harry would have gladly accepted the award, glad that he had finally proved himself worthy of the wizarding world's respect, but now he thought differently. The war had changed him; there was no doubt.

"Mr.-"

"Shunpike," Rashida offered without taking her eyes off of Harry. There was something about the boy, something he wasn't saying, and she was going to figure out what it was.

"Mr. Shunpike, what gives you the preposterous idea that Mr. Potter would not want the Order of Merlin… First Class? After all the bravery he exhibited in ridding our world of he-who-must-not-be-named, he deserves this award above anyone else who has every received the honor!"

"For Merlin's sake, say Voldemort's name!" Harry cried. Why won't people say his name already? The minister twitched violently at the name, causing his hat to fall askew. He reached up to straighten it and Harry rolled his eyes. Apparently old habits die slowly.

"So Mr. Shunpike, what gives you the authority to strip the honor from Harry Potter? He clearly earned it. It is the least the wizarding world can do for him. Perhaps we shall also erect a statue or give him a monetary prize as well…" the minister continued to himself.

"I JUST WANT TO BE A NORMAL MAN!" Harry exploded. The three people clustered around Harry's bed jerked in surprise. Rashida yelped and jumped, the nurse dropped the goblet of potion she had been holding, and the minister's jaw dropped and his hat fell askew once again. The nurse waved her wand and cleaned up the spilt potion.

"Y-Y-You're Harry Potter?" the minister asked, stuttering at his luck. Harry was nauseated by the man's similarity to Fudge.

"You lied to me?" Rashida asked. "At this time when security is of the utmost importance and you lied about who you are…to me?" She stared at the young man in open disbelief.

The nurse shook her head in amazement and handed Harry a fresh goblet of potion. "Drink this Mr. Potter," she said quietly.

Harry rolled his eyes and took the potion from the nurse's hand. "And if I am?" he countered, knowing that he couldn't deny who he was now.

"You can't refuse the Order of Merlin. It simply isn't done!" the minister spluttered. "Rashida, I propose we hold the ceremony as soon as possible. We can use the event to announce our hero's return as well," he said happily, his mind already planning his triumphant speech telling the wizarding world of how he had found the missing hero.

Harry opened his mouth to protest, but a yawn came out instead. "Now, I do believe you two can finish your planning in your office, Rashida," the nurse said suggestively. Rashida looked at Harry's drooping eyes and nodded her head curtly. She wanted to talk to this fabled boy more, but now wasn't the time. She turned around abruptly and walked out of the hospital ward with the minister close on her heels.

Harry watched them go drowsily. "I refuse the Order of Merlin," he said sluggishly, the sleeping draught taking effect. He yawned again. When his mouth shut, a slight grimace covered his face. "So much for being normal after fulfilling the proph-" he said sadly. The potion took full effect and Harry fell into a deep sleep before he could finish his sentence.

**Author's Note:** Hey everybody. Sorry about the wait! So how was the length of the chapter, what did you think? Oh, quick fyi- my writing time is being severly cut down because of circumstances beyond my control, so updates will not be frequent. I will not even pretend to think that I can get them out as often as I used to, sorry.

Response to Reviews: Wow, thirteen seems to be the number. Once again, I got thirteen reviews. And yet, somehow they're different people each time…I think. How strange.

Anonymous Reviews: Two this time.

Kenneth- glad to hear you're still reading! And don't worry, I have a few more surprises up my sleeve cackle haha.

Emily- glad you like my story! I know, not many people like Harry being ugly, I'm sorry…


	21. Chapter 21

"Ginny, Rashida wants to talk to you, now," a small girl said as she ran up to Ginny in the common room. Ginny turned from her conversation with her friends to the blonde haired first year.

"What about?" the older girl inquired.

"I don't know. She just told me to get you as soon as possible."

Ginny cursed under her breath. Hermione looked up from across the room. She fixed Ginny with a demanding glare and Ginny mouthed the word, 'grades.' Hermione looked at Ginny pointedly. Ginny rolled her eyes, excused herself from her friends and started towards the Head's Office.

When she got to the gargoyle, she realized that she didn't know the password. She looked up and down the hall, looking for a teacher who might tell her how to get in. After she waited for a couple of minutes, the gargoyle sprang aside. Ginny nearly followed suit, startled from the unexpected movement. The tall Headmistress glided down the stairs and peered at Ginny. "To my office," she said quietly.

Once the pair was in the round office, Rashida took a seat behind the desk and motioned for Ginny to do the same at a straight-backed seat in front of the desk. "Ginerva, I thought we already had a discussion about your atrocious grades," the woman started tiredly.

"We did," Ginny started.

"Then why have your grades not risen?" Ginny opened her mouth to say that her grades had indeed risen, but Rashida held up a hand, silencing the girl. "Not enough to earn you the privilege of staying the Gryffindor Quidditch Captain." Ginny closed her mouth and slumped in her chair. "I realize it must be horrible for him to appear as he did, but really, focus on your grades more and he won't be as distracting."

Ginny looked up at the professor. How did Rashida know about her father? "The healers are getting discouraged, but I'm sure he'll be fine in time," she replied.

"He's been to healers?" Rashida exclaimed, her eyes wide in shock.

Ginny looked at the woman oddly. How could her father not have been to healers? "Of course! He went straight to St. Mungo's," Ginny explained.

Rashida thought back to the man in the hospital wing. Apparently it has been a while since he was at St. Mungo's. Either that, or the healers had forgotten to clean the boy's wounds and to heal him, which Rashida thought unlikely. "Well, he's apparently relocated himself to Hogwarts. I just talked to him in the hospital wing." Rashida tried to think of why Harry Potter would be claimed as missing in action if he had been admitted to St. Mungo's. Maybe the boy wasn't Harry Potter at all. Maybe, he was actually Stan Shunpike. Rashida thought, horrified, maybe he was a surviving Death Eater, trying to infiltrate her school.

Ginny stared at the woman for a moment, too shocked to speak. Her father was at Hogwarts? "Can I go see him?" she asked anxiously.

"I don't see why not," Rashida said, shrugging her thin shoulders. She pushed the dilemma concerning the young man from her mind. Perhaps she could get Ginny to shed some light on the subject later.

Ginny, without waiting for the headmistress to dismiss her, ran from the room, her robes flying after her. She had to tell Ron! Her feet went skidding around a corner and she ran into none other than Ron and Hermione. The girl grinned, unable to hide her excitement. If her father had made it to Hogwarts then he must be awake! After all, Rashida had said that he had relocated himself. "Come on, we have to go see him!" Ginny told her brother, forgetting to say who him was in her excitement.

"You know?" Ron asked, taken aback. How did Ginny know Harry was back?

"Yeah, Rashida told me. Come on, let's go!" Ginny began to pull her brother along.

"Rashida knows?" Ron asked. "Where is he?" he pressed his sister. She seemed to know where she was going.

"He's in the hospital wing of course!" Ginny said as they walked hurriedly down the hall.

The hospital wing? Ron stared at his sister. After a few more steps, he shrugged. If she knew, she knew. The trio rushed down the halls toward the hospital wing. Ginny couldn't wait to talk to her dad. And Hermione and Ron wanted to smooth things out between them. Last night hadn't exactly gone over well.

They stopped in front of the hospital wing doors. They all took a big breath. "I can't believe he's here!" Ginny said finally. "I really missed him over the summer." Ron rolled his eyes. That was an understatement.

"Ready?" Hermione asked after another minute. Ginny looked over to her friend. She had forgotten the older girl was there. The trio pushed the doors open and walked in. Hermione and Ron rushed over to the only occupied bed. Ginny, however stayed in the doorway.

That wasn't her father!

"Harry!" Hermione cried. "You had us worried sick when you ran off!"

Ginny's mouth dropped in shock. Did Hermione just say "Harry"?

Harry looked at them silently. Ron looked back at Harry. They seemed to have a silent conversation by themselves. After a few moments, Ron looked away, shamefacedly. "I should have come after you…both times."

"You had your own problems," Harry finally said.

Ginny walked over to the bed, her feet moving silently. "You're back," she said quietly. Harry jerked at the sound of her voice and rolled over so that he faced away from her.

"Ginny," Harry said longingly. He wanted to turn around and take her in his arms, but she had run from him last time she saw him. Why would this time be any different?

"Harry?" Ginny asked. She reached out a hand and touched him lightly on the shoulder. She felt Harry stiffen at her touch. She sighed silently and bit back the tears.

Ron and Hermione watched the exchange. Should they speak? They decided against it. Those two had things to work out.

"Ginny, go away," Harry said quietly. It hurt him to say it, but he couldn't bear Ginny to see him like this.

"But…" Ginny started.

"Ginny, please," Harry pleaded. His voice was husky as he told her to do the exact opposite of what he wanted.

At this point, Ron could stand the pain on his sister's face to more. He took a step forward and clasped a hand on her shoulder. He started to pull her towards the door, but she shook him off.

"Harry, look at me!" she told the boy on the bed. Harry remained stubbornly facing away from her. She began to walk to the other side of the bed, but Harry hid his face in the pillow. She bent down to kiss him on the cheek. "Harry…" she said softly as Harry jerked away. She sat down in the chair next to his bed. A few tears traced their way down her cheeks silently. Ron watched his sister as she used her eyes to plead Harry to look at her.

"Ginny," Hermione said quietly. Ginny shook her head to silence Hermione. She wasn't going anywhere.

"Ginny," Harry said quietly. She looked up, thinking he was now facing her, but he wasn't. He was looking at Ron, who was returning the stare. "Please, just go," Harry pleaded again. "Please," he repeated.

Ginny stood up numbly and walked toward the door. What was she doing? She didn't want to leave! But Harry told her to, her other side told her. Harry doesn't want you anymore. Erik was right. With that final thought, she looked back at Harry and saw his face. She looked at it for a brief moment, but when Harry looked at her, she turned away and left the ward. The pain in his green eyes was enough to see even from the door. It was more than Ginny could bear.

Harry watched the door close. Ron heard the door shut and rounded on Harry. He opened his mouth to yell at his friend, but found he couldn't when he saw tears streaming down the boy's ragged cheeks. "Your welcome to go to the Burrow. You can live there as long as you want," Ron offered.

"I can't," Harry said, shaking his head.

"Then where are you going to go?" Hermione asked. "Are you going to ask Rashida if you can stay here?"

"No, I've got Number Twelve," Harry said. "As soon as they let me go, I suppose I'll go there," Harry shrugged. He couldn't bear the thought of living in his godfather's house by himself, but that was his only option. During the war, he at least had had other people cycling through the house constantly. The house had never been silent. Harry had rarely been in the house at all, let alone by himself. Now, he had to spend every hour of every day in that house, alone, silent.

"What will you do for money and food?" Hermione asked imploringly.

"My parents left me enough money. My dad didn't have to work, nor do I," Harry shrugged.

"So what are you going to do with yourself? Stare at a wall all day?" Ron asked.

"I don't know what else to do," Harry admitted. "I don't know what I want to do for a living."

"You could…" Ron started.

"I can't be an Auror. I've had enough of that. I always thought being an Auror would be glorious and fun, but I know better now. I saw plenty in the war."

"That's not what I was going to say," Ron said.

"Why don't you teach defense against the dark arts?" Hermione suggested. "You know that better than anyone else. And that way you don't have to be in that big house by yourself _all_ the time."

"Hermione," Harry started.

"Harry, don't say anything. Just promise me you'll think about it," Hermione asked.

"Sure. So what are you going to do after you're done here? What are you doing here anyway?"

"First off, we're here to bring extra security to Hogwarts since the war just ended…it was Rashida's idea," Ron said.

"Ginny and I are going to train to be healers after this year," Hermione said.

"Ron, what about you, do you still want to be an Auror?" Harry prompted.

"I don't know…When you first left, I thought I'd wait for you to come back and we'd be Aurors. Then what happened in the war sank in. I couldn't be an Auror. I know they do good things…but it's not for me. So, I don't know Harry."

The trio exchanged glances. Hermione opened her mouth, but the nurse interrupted her. "I'm sorry to break this lovely party up, but Mr. Potter requires rest. I'm trying to minimize the physical damage, and that takes time and rest. So you will have to leave. Goodbye," She set a tray with a few goblets of potions next to the bed. "Drink this one last," she said, pointing to the one Harry recognized as the dreamless sleeping potion. He was looking forward to a night's sleep where he didn't have to worry about nightmares for a change.

He looked up at his friends. "I'll see you guys later," he said. Hermione bent down and hugged Harry.

"It's good to have you home," she whispered. Harry awkwardly patted her back. She stood up and left the wing, leaving Ron and Harry alone.

"I don't know whether to be happy you're finally home, or to pummel you for being gone," Ron confessed. Harry shifted his eyes away from Ron's blue ones. "You really messed people up by not even contacting us," he continued.

"I'm sorry," Harry mumbled.

"Don't," Ron said. "Don't even bother. Sorry can't give us our summer back. We spent all summer worrying about you, waiting for you, and with everything else going on, it's a miracle we made it to the school year."

"Ron, I'm sorry, what more do you want me to say?" Harry asked.

"I shouldn't have to tell you. But I will tell you this, the day you came home, at breakfast, I told Ginny that she deserved someone better than a jerk like you. And you know what? I still think that," Ron hung his head and left the room.

Harry watched his friend go and reached numbly for the potions.

**Author's Note:** So what did you think? Am I doing better with the length? What about update time? (I kinda forgot about when my last update was oops)

Oh…bittersweet comment-this story is almost over…just figure you all deserved to know.

Response to Reviews: Overall you seemed to like it :) thanks you! 17 reviews and only 300 some hits! Much better percent grins

Anonymous Reviews: Wow, there was a bunch! Here goes:

Bubble: Aww thanks!

Kenneth: hehe, sorry, didn't mean to catch you off guard! But I'm glad you reviewed, even if you didn't remember it! Hope you're more awake now :)

james's little boy: Oh, don't worry, I will smile

Dante D.: Wow, your enthusiasm makes me blush blushes lol I hope this chapter was to your satisfaction!


	22. Chapter 22

Harry sipped at the orange juice the nurse had given him. He thought about just getting up and going back to his quiet life alone, away from his so-called friends that apparently did care for his hideous face. Harry looked at the now-empty plate that had once held his breakfast and sighed; waking up to the wonderful smells of a Hogwarts breakfast delivered to his bed was too good to walk away from. Last night, when he woke up around dinnertime, he had been provided with his first good meal in ages. The boredom that lasted all evening was not too big of a price to pay for the delicious delievered meals. He wasn't starving, but a real meal was a nice improvement from his meals in the forest.

Apparently his whereabouts hadn't circulated the school yet. Other than Ron, Hermione, and Ginny's trip, no one had come to see him. And they had only come once, last night. He was slightly hurt that they hadn't come again. Giolla was wrong; they did care about his face. They saw you twice and they still couldn't bare your face for more than a few minutes, a small voice said in the back of his head. He thought about rebuking that voice, but he realized with a sharp pang that it was right.

_I'm never wrong; give them time,_ a hiss said. Harry laughed; great, now he was going insane. Some people talked to themselves, but Harry spoke parseltongue to himself. _You're not insane, look under your bed,_ the hiss said irritably. Harry thought about ignoring this new voice of his, but curiosity got the better of him. He put his orange juice on the bedside table and leaned over the side of the bed.

Two beady eyes looked back at him. Harry jumped in surprise and fell off of the bed. He laid sprawled on the floor, the breath momentarily knocked out of him. _How on earth did you get in here?_ Harry demanded. He was relieved that his...acquaintance had returned, but she had lied to him.

_Never mind that, read your newspaper,_ the snake demanded him. Harry had noticed that the nurse had given him a copy of the Daily Prophet, but he had been avoiding reading it. It had published nothing but garbage before, why would it have changed? _Go on, read it. I think you'll find it amusing._

Warily, Harry crawled back into bed and grabbed the folded newspaper. It took mere seconds for him to find what Giolla had been talking about. It was plastered on the front page, complete with a picture. Harry looked grimly at the wizard in the picture. He recognized the young man as himself, but the picture was putting a great effort into hiding behind the other people in the picture. Harry forced a smile as he saw his unmarred face dodge behind Ron. The picture Ron pushed the picture Harry to the front, and the picture Hermione helped the redhead hold the struggling young man. The Daily Prophet had used this picture before, for when Harry openly admitted to being the only one who could defeat Voldemort. Harry tore his eyes away from the picture and read the heading to the long article.

_**The Boy Who Lived, MIA**_

_Harry Potter, eighteen, was deemed officially missing in action by Savage, head of Aurors Department. "We can no longer afford the search to continue. We need to use the funds elsewhere, but we do not believe Mr. Potter to be dead," he was reported to have said. The teen hero was last said to be sighted at Kings Cross Station where he took a train out of the country, possibly to Germany. Even though no official search will be conducted, the Daily Prophet will pay a reward of ten Galleons to anyone who may provide information about the boy's whereabouts. _

Harry didn't bother to continue reading the article that took up much of the first page. He laughed quietly to himself. MIA, yeah right, that will change as soon as the Minister spoke to the Daily Prophet. As for being sighted, that was outlandish. He had been hiding in the Forbidden Forest ever since The Battle. His eyes roved over the reward and he wandered whether these people were concerned about Harry Potter or 'the boy who lived'.

_You lied to me,_ Harry said after a pause, pushing the article from his mind.

_I did not lie to you,_ Giolla said patiently. _Give them time, and they'll realize how happy they are to have you back._

_Ginny ran away from me. She took one look at me, tried to hex me, and ran_, Harry said. He bit his lip to stop himself from saying more.

_See, you do want her back,_ Giolla pointed out. _Besides, you're the one that told her to leave last night._

_Ron doesn't think I'm me,_ Harry said sadly. Seeing that look of suspicion in his best friend's eyes had been even more painful than Ginny running away. And he hates you, that annoying voice in the back of his head added viciously.

_Shh,_ Giolla warned. _Someone's coming,_ she continued. She slid underneath the bed.

"Bill, you should have seen the poor boy!" Harry's heart jumped at the concerned voice. He wanted to run over to her and bury himself in her arms, but that would have been stupid. Instead he closed his eyes and pretended to be asleep.

"Harry, get up. You're horrible at pretending to sleep," Bill said. Harry opened his eyes sheepishly. "So how have you been, mate?" Bill asked, pulling a chair up.

"Alright," Harry shrugged. Mrs. Weasely suddenly engulfed him in a hug. Harry hugged her back.

"Harry, what happened to you?" Mrs. Weasely demanded, pulling back from the hug.

"It was a war," Harry shrugged.

"Why didn't you come straight home to get your cuts healed up?" Mrs. Weasely asked, looking at Harry with a stern eye.

Harry found he couldn't keep eye contact with the woman. Bill, sensing the younger boy's discomfort decided to change the subject. Harry would explain to the, why he didn't come home later. "You might have a bit of a problem getting the girls," he said, winking. Harry laughed slightly.

"Speaking of girls, Bill," Mrs. Weasely said pointedly, rounding on her eldest son. Bill sighed; he should have seen this coming. Harry sat up and looked on with interest. "You should be finding yourself a nice girl to settle down with. Harry has time to find the perfect girl, you however," Mrs. Weasely continued, letting the sentence hang in the air. "I bet if you let me just trim your hair, the girls would come after you," she said suggestively.

"Mum, I don't want a girl," Bill said tiredly, leaning back in his chair. This was apparently a common discussion. Bill swallowed a few times to dislodge the lump that had formed in his throat, but to no avail. He coughed gently and continued, "Fleur died just a few weeks ago! I can't just up and forget her!" His eyes shone as he thought about the girl that had promised to live with him forever, no matter his condition.

Mrs. Weasely looked sadly at her son. "Bill, she's gone. You have to move on," her tone was sympathetic, but the words themselves were harsh.

"Mum, after what I've become, after dealing with my love's death, how can I expect any girl to want to be near me?" Bill asked, a hint of self-pity evident in his voice that didn't belong there. "Besides, they'll think I'm just going to compare them to Fleur, the part veela. I can't look at other girls in that way this soon after Fleur's death. It just isn't right," he continued.

"Bill!" Mrs. Weasely reproached her son.

"Mum," Bill replied.

"Mrs. Weasely," Harry broke in. The woman looked at Harry as if she had forgotten he was there. "Why don't I talk to Bill? I believe you might want to talk to Ginny," he suggested. Mrs. Weasely gasped and rushed out the door.

"I owe you one," Bill said gratefully, his eyes still showing the pain thinking of Fleur had put there.

"I know how it is. What girl would want a face like this?" Harry said, pointing to his own face.

"I know of one girl," Bill said, forgetting his own girl problems for a moment.

Harry looked at the smile on the man's face, but didn't return one. "Care to refresh my memory?" he asked sadly.

"My sister," Bill said, wiping the smile off of his face.

"Try again," Harry said, shaking his head. "She looked at me and ran."

"Harry! She didn't recognize you; give her another chance."

"I don't think I can," Harry said. "Maybe I should just go away."

Bill looked down at the kind he had come to think of as another little brother. He reached out with his big hands and shook the famous boy, hard. Harry thought he felt his teeth rattle inside his head. "Would you shut up?" Bill growled. "There are people here that love and care for you and you're just going to throw that all away. What was the one power you had that Voldemort didn't?" Bill asked angrily.

Harry waited for Bill to continue his rant, but the man just waited for Harry to answer. "To love," he said quietly.

"And here you are, throwing all the love in this world away so you can go mope all by yourself. How stupid can you be?"

"But..."

Bill ran his hands through his hair. "Quit being so daft! Within the week, I want to get an owl from Ginny saying that you apologized to her and that you two are together. God knows you belong together." Bill glared at Harry, daring the younger man to argue.

Harry ignored the glare and continued. "She doesn't want me! How can I force this hideous face on her? She deserves better than me."

"Would you stop being a blubbering fool for just one minute?" Bill asked angrily. "Sweep that girl off of her feet. You're done being miserable."

"Who are you to tell me to get over it? What about your own girl problems?" Harry fired back.

"She's dead, Harry. Fleur loved me, even through my condition. But no other woman in the world would do that. Fleur was something special. I will never find another girl like her. She was one of a kind. I'm just a casualty of war. But Ginny is still alive, don't let her get away."

"Listen to yourself! And you call me a blubbering fool?" Harry told Bill.

The man paused for a minute while he thought over the few words he had just said. "So, why did you leave?" Bill asked, deciding he couldn't argue with Harry on that point.

"I had to," Harry replied simply.

"Why?" Bill pressed.

"If I had come back with everyone, can you imagine what it would have been like?"

"A whole lot better than it was," Bill said bitterly, thinking over the gray days his family had lived in all summer long.

"No it wouldn't have been. I saw too much that day," Harry said sadly.

"You saw no more than the rest of us," Bill pointed out.

"That's where you're wrong. I saw every single face mingled with fear, hate and pain. When everyone fell unconscious, their faces froze. Death Eaters and people on our side alike, no one was spared the pain and fear. More than that, I saw death. I saw my friends kill unmercifully, I saw my kind comrades shout spells, spells meant to cause pain, even to kill. I saw my friends with blood on their hands."

"We all did, Harry," Bill broke in.

"But more than seeing my friends with blood on their hands, I killed people. I ended lives that didn't have to end."

"Harry, that was your destiny going in. You had to kill Voldemort."

"He wasn't the only one, I killed Colin Creevey," Harry said heavily.

Bill stared at Harry a minute. Harry watched, pained at the dark, wondering thoughts he saw in the man's questioning eyes.

"In a moment of blind anger and need for revenge, I killed a young boy. He shouldn't have even been there. I developed his last picture." Harry reached underneath the pillow he was sitting up on. "Here," he said as he handed Bill the still picture.

Bill looked at it with amazement. In amongst the fighting and horror, this young boy had found a picture to capture all of it, not just the hate and fear, but also the love and grief. There was Ginny, her hair frozen in the air as she spun around. There was hate in her eyes like Bill had never seen before. They were wide open, searching for the culprit while the freely spilled tears. But Bill noticed her open jaw forming an O of surprise. A look of saddened shock was starting to form on her face as she saw who had just shouted the killing curse. Bill's eyes scanned down the picture, until he reached the hem of Ginny's robes that wrapped around her legs from the force of her spin. Where her one foot was pointing, in the direction she had been facing, a crumpled form lay on the ground. Above the dark colored robes, a red mess of hair stuck up, springing from a face full of pain and shock. Tears covered Ginny's face. Her wand was raised, clutched between white fingers as if it were going to kill whoever did this to her brother. Bill looked back up to her face, searching for a semblance to the happy sister he used to have. Her face was flushed with anger, but white from the shock was beginning to drain the color. Bill guessed the chock was from the form at her feet and from the source of the killing curse that ended this photographer's life.

"Harry," Bill started.

"I killed the boy that found this. I killed a young boy who never had a moment too sad to find a smile. This boy that was smart, talented, and devoted. I killed this boy that was a Gryffindor through and through. I took away his hopes and reams. I took away a family's little boy. I killed a brother; I killed a son; I killed a best friend; and I killed a loved one, all by killing Colin Creevey. How could I return? The press...'_Boy Who Lives Brings Death_,' '_Hero Kills Innocent_,' '_Boy Who Lives or Boy Who Kills?_', the list goes on. All I've wanted since day one was to be normal, to fit in. But ever since I was one year old, I was anything but normal. Maybe if I disappeared, people would forget my name, stop looking for my face in the crowd. And maybe someday I could come back as a new person, and live like the normal person I want to be." Harry finished talking and looked down. Bill saw Harry's eyelashes moving quickly while they tried to blink back tears.

Bill didn't know what to say. How had he thought that Harry had suffered no more than anyone else? Bill searched for something to say.

Harry helped Bill find a new subject, though. "So, what was going on while I was gone?" he asked, swallowing and looking up, a shield over his eyes, hiding the pain and guilt Bill knew the boy was feeling.

"A lot of time was spent cleaning up the mess on the battlefield. There were bodies to identify, people to send to Azkaban, and people to heal. That too up most of the summer."

"How is everyone?"

"Well, Ron was a mess, the twins moved back in, as did I, because Dad is in a coma, and Mum needs the money we make to help out with Ron and Ginny, especially since Ginny needed all new books-"

"You should have taken my money!" Harry interrupted.

"Mum would never do that you know that," Bill said.

"How is your mum?"

"All right, stressed and worried about you, but fine other than that. Charlie died, and Ginny was pretty upset all summer." The two mean looked at each other for a moment before a look of surprise came over Bill's face. "Oh, that reminds me. Ginny's been hanging around this other kid. Erik's his name. He worried me at first, but he seems okay, I guess. Fred and George seem okay with him," Bill said.

"Erik..." Harry said, storing the name in his mind for later. "Bill, I have to tell you something about that kid."

Bill looked at Harry. The younger man's dark tone did not sound like Bill was going to like this piece of information. "Go ahead."

"At the battle, I say Fleur die. Not far from where she fell, I saw Charlie fall over, his face frozen as you saw it in that picture. I didn't see anyone cast a spell, but where Charlie had been standing, I saw Erik with his wand out and a sickening smile on his face. Bill, I think Erik killed Charlie." Harry looked sorrowfully at the eldest Weasely. "I don't think Ginny should be anywhere near that guy," he said after a few moments of silence.

"Oh God," Bill finally said after what seemed an eternity. The color drained from the man's face and he put it into his large hands. Harry looked at Bill, unsure of what to say. He finally decided on nothing and leaned back on his pillows as he let this news sink into Bill's numb mind. "Are you sure?" Bill asked in a raspy voice.

"Positive."

**A/N:** Sorry this took so long, but my computer died, erasing all my files. So I had to retype this chapter...then edit it...again...and all that after I found my hard copy...which took forever. Well, I hope you liked it. Sorry I didn't get around to replying to your individual reviews. I'll do that tomorrow, but I figured you'd like the chapter ASAP. Hopefully the crazy long wait didn't chase people off...last chapter had 13 reviews, let's see if I get any more this time around :) well, I'm going to update now.


	23. Chapter 23

Harry watched as the nurse wandered back into her office after tending to a couple of patients. After the door remained shut for a few minutes, Giolla came back into view, looking cautiously at the closed door. Satisfied that the nurse wasn't going to return for a while, she turned her beady eyes toward Harry.

_Well?_ she demanded. Harry could have sworn she fixed him with an expecting glare, if snakes could that was.

_Well what?_ Harry asked as he sat up in bed and crossed his legs in front of him.

_You know what! Why won't you accept the award?_ She wound herself around the bedpost and slithered up until she was curled up in front of Harry.

Harry sighed and reached for his glasses. _Why are you bringing this up now? Why not when the minister announced that Harry Potter would receive the stupid thing?_

_Because we've been interrupted every chance I had to ask you. So I'm asking you now. Why?_

_Because I'm tired of being famous. You heard what I told Bill._

_I did, but that's irrelevant,_ she said dismissively.

_How so?_ Harry asked.

_Harry, are you an imbecile? Think about what you want to do! When was the last time someone _refused_ the Order of Merlin...let alone First Class?_

Harry paused as he thought it over. Hermione would have been the better one to ask, but judging from Giolla's tone of voice, no one ever had.

_Well aren't you a genius,_ Giolla said sarcastically. _Can you imagine the headlines if you refuse? Reporters will be all over you, asking you why. As the minister kindly pointed out, it simply isn't done._

_What do you want me to do?_ Harry asked, biting back a sigh. He knew the answer, but he didn't like it.

_I never used to think you were an idiot. After all, how did you survive the Dark Lord? But you're quickly proving me wrong._

_Fine!_ Harry cried out in a loud hiss. _I'll be a good little boy and accept the stupid award! Why don't I just call the reporters in here right now and say, 'Guess what? I'm back! Ask me questions!'?_ Harry was not looking forward to the press once they got wind of his return.

_That won't be necessary. They'll start asking you questyions without you wasting the breath to invite them to do so,_ Giolla said smugly.

Harry threw Giolla a dirty look.

_Why on earth did you come back anyway?_ she asked coolly. _It's quite clear you don't want to be here._

_Of course I want to be here!_ Harry retorted.

_Yeah, and that's why you want to be left alone and have no one know you're here..._ Giolla said sarcastically.

_Because this food is way better, and the bed's softer,_ Harry said seriously.

_Try again,_ Giolla said expectantly.

_No, really. I wanted to eat real food,_ Harry said earnestly. _After the garbage I've been making myself, Hagrid's rock cakes would have been good. Hogwarts food is pure heaven compared to it all._

_Harry, a blind man could see that you're lying!_ Giolla said, trying not to laugh at Harry's pitiful attempts. She turned towards the doorway and looked at it for a few moments.

_Someone coming?_ Harry asked worriedly. He wasn't exactly looking forward to explaining to Rashida why he was talking to Voldemort's snake. She didn't trust him as it was. Talking to the Dark Lord's snake would land him a room with the dementors...not good.

_No, of course not,_ Giolla said, turning back to her master.

_Fine then, be that way. To tell the truth, I was going insane being alone all the time._

_Alone!_ Giolla protested.

_Having a snake for your only companion hardly counts as not being alone! Besides, it was boring. Not that your lovely sense of humor didn't improve things,_ Harry hastily added, stopping another outburst from Giolla. _And among all that, I guess I finally just realized that it was time to face facts and live with and as who I am. But once I got back, I realized how hard that was, and I decided I wasn't ready_. Harry leaned back against his headboard and ran his hand through his raven hair. His green eyes met with the bottomless eyes of the serpent before him.

_You're ready to be home. You're ready to live as Harry Potter, the boy who lived, the boy who vanquished the Dark Lord. Just have faith in yourself,_ Giolla said quietly. Harry was taken aback by her new caring and encouraging attitude.

_So if I have to face facts and be who I am and live with society, when is everyone going to find out about you?_ Harry challenged the snake.

_Whenever you're ready to introduce me,_ Giolla said with an odd snake-shrug.

Harry looked at the snake in confusion. _You mean I get to choose? You won't spring the encounter on me?_ It was almost too good to hope for.

"Harry!" Harry spun towards the door at the sound of his name. Ron was standing in the doorway with an astounded look on his face. "The snake!" Ron sputtered. And indeed it was too good to be true, Harry thought ruefully.

_You knew he was coming! You deliberately stayed in plain sight so that he'd see you! _Harry accused Giolla angrily.

_And if I did?_ Giolla asked calmly.

"Harry, that's the snake that bit my dad!" Ron said angrily. He pulled out his wand and pointed at the snake. "Watch out," he warned, his eyes flashing dangerously.

"Ron, no!" Harry cried. He moved his arm in front of the snake. Ron looked like he was going to try and aim around Harry's arm, and for a terrifying second, Harry thought he would. But Ron lowered the wand warily.

"What are you doing?" Ron questioned fearfully. Without waiting for Harry to answer, he continued, "I know! You're under the Imperius Curse! The Death Eaters are controlling you!"

"Ron, it's not like that," Harry said as calmingly as he could.

"But-"

"Let me explain," Harry offered. He stood up and walked over to his friend. Harry gently pried the wand from Ron's hand and led him over to the bed. Ron sunk into the chair that sat next to it and Harry resumed his cross-legged position on the bed. Ron looked worriedly at the snake. "Look at me," Harry instructed. Ron turned to look at Harry. "Giolla-"

"I thought its name was Nagini," Ron broke in, glancing at the snake.

"That was the name Voldemort gave her, her real name, the name she was given when she was created is Giolla," Harry explained patiently. Ron looked at Harry in confusion. "She was created by Salazar Slytherin-"

"So it _is_ evil!" Ron said triumphantly.

_Would he please stop calling me an it?_ Giolla asked impatiently. Harry thought he saw her roll her eyes, but snakes don't roll their eyes, it just isn't possible.

"What did it say?" Ron asked as he looked at the snake with uneasy eyes.

"She asks that you quit calling _her_ an it," Harry said, laughing slightly.

"Oh, erm, tell i-her that I'm sorry," Ron said, surprised that the snake had noticed. Since when did snakes understand English?

_He said he's sorry,_ Harry said to Giolla. _So how did you know?_

Giolla winked at him. _That's my little secret,_ she said smugly.

"So how did you get a snake made by Salazar Slytherin?" Ron asked, trying to move back on topic. He didn't like not knowing what they were saying/

"Well it's a long story, but in short, she passes herself down the line of Slytherin descendants," Harry said, half guessing as to how he got the snake.

"But you're not a descendant," Ron pointed out. Ron looked at the snake, half expecting her to bite him. Harry pointed up at his scar and a look of recognition crossed Ron's face as he faced Harry again. "So it's because of that?" Giolla slithered off the bed and into the shadows. Ron jumped up and brought his knees under his chin as she moved. "Where's she going?" he asked, alarmed.

"Who knows? But don't worry about her," Harry said, shrugging his shoulders lightly.

Ron took a gulp of air and scanned the shadows for the snake, but to no avail. "So it's because of that?" he tried asking again, motioning toward Harry's forehead.

"I guess so," Harry said, shrugging helplessly. "So, what did you come in for in the first place?"

"Oh!" Ron said, his face lighting up. Ron stopped looking into the shadows for the missing snake and looked at Harry. "Dad's home! The healers say he'll have all his magic back, but they don't want him to use it for another few days. And he's not going back to work for another week, so Bill and the twins are still helping out," Ron said quickly.

"That's great Ron!" Harry said, smiling genuinely.

"Yeah, Mum went home to baby him, and Bill went back so that he can get back to work. Oh! And he said that once Dad gets better, he doesn't think he's going back to Egypt," Ron said happily.

"Do I sense a Quidditch-" Harry stopped talking abruptly and turned around so that he faced away from Ron.

"Harry?" Ron asked before turning around to look at the doorway.

Ginny was standing a couple of steps into the room. She saw her brother and started to turn around, but before she could turn all the way around, Ron was halfway across the room, leaving Ginny and Harry alone.

There were a few tense seconds of silence as Ginny looked at Harry's back and Harry waited for her to say something. After another few unbearable seconds, Harry asked the first question, "So, how's Erik?" His voice was hard and cold.

Ginny's face fell at the older boy's name. "I broke things up with him." She waited for him to respond, but he didn't move. "Not that there was ever anything between us!" she added hastily.

"Didn't look that way to me," Harry said quietly.

Ginny looked at the floor. "Harry..." She looked back up at the boy's back, begging him to look at her with his eyes. "Bill told me about him. I'm sorry!" she said. She felt tears spring to her eyes, but she bit them back. "How was I supposed to know?" she asked, her voice quavering. "He was nice to me, and you just left! I didn't know where you were! As far as I knew, you had dumped me...or worse, died!" She brushed the back of her hand against her eyes.

She took a step closer to the bed and reached for Harry's shoulder. She felt Harry stiffen under her hand. Before he had a chance to move away, she lowered the hand slowly and glared at Harry's back. "No, come to think of it, I'm not sorry!" Her voice rose as she got more and more angry, but she didn't care. "I opened my eyes after The Battle and everyone was lying down. It looked like everybody was dead! I felt so alone! I looked for you everywhere, but I couldn't find you. I thought you were dead. You certainly didn't leave us any evidence to believe otherwise! I'm not the one who should be apologizing, you are!" She glared at him for a moment, waiting for him to ask for forgiveness, but he didn't. "I woke up, and I thought everyone I loved was dead. I saw Charlie dead, and when I woke up, I saw other people I loved lying on the ground, their faces frozen in anger and pain. Then I looked to see if you too were dead, and you simply weren't there! I found your dagger in Voldemort's throat and took it. I thought about ending everything right then and there, but someone woke up, Ron, and he helped me look for everyone. As we walked around, people started waking up. I figured you would wake up soon too, and come find me, but you didn't.

"For the rest of the summer, I tried to decide if you were dead, or simply gone. Ron wasn't much better off. My dad was in St. Mungo's and the healers weren't sure if he'd even live, let alone be a wizard again! Bill and the twins moved in, so Charlie's death was even more obvious. All summer long I listened to people talk about who died on the field, who died the day after. And everyone wanted to know where you had gone, so they asked Ron and me, as if we'd know! Hermione was off in God knows where! So Ron and I had to keep telling people we didn't know where you were, or even if you were alive! How was I supposed to react to that? How much more painful could people have made it? Then, at the end of the summer, Hedwig came. It sounded like you were never coming back! So I decided to go to Diagon Alley one day. Erik was nice to me. He cared about me. Of course I liked him! You had basically proclaimed yourself dead, and left me hanging, and here was a nice boy who wanted to make me feel better. He told me that I was better than you. And i agree with him. Ron said that later on, and he's right too, I deserve better than this."

She looked at Harry after her outburst, expecting him to react, but he didn't. "I'm not apologizing to you. I don't have to. You need to apologize to me," Ginny said with a quiet firmness. She waited for a response, but again, none came. "Harry, just say something," she said in half anger half sadness. She didn't want to lose him again, but she wasn't going to grovel at his feet.

"Okay then," she said quietly. Ginny reached into her robe pocket and pulled out Harry's dagger. She looked at it briefly as it flickered in the candlelight, and placed it quietly on the table at Harry's bedside. She walked to the door and paused on the threshold. Before leaving the ward, Ginny looked over her shoulder one last time. Harry was still sitting stock still with his back to her. She turned around and walked out of the ward, keeping her face resolutely facing forward. She would not turn back, not this time. She was done asking for forgiveness.

Harry heard her footsteps fade away as she walked down the stone hallway. A long tear fell out of his eye and splashed onto the stone floor, creating a sun-like pattern. A sunny pattern, typically so full of joy, had never held so much pain before.

**Author's Note:** Well, what did y'all think? How was the length of this one? How was the conversations? Let me know in a review! Oh, and if you have ANY plot questions, bring them up now. I'm wrapping this story up, and I don't want to leave any big gaping holes. So, let me know! Or, if anything doesn't make sense...ASK me! Thanks!

Oh, and I decided to be mean. The next chapter will not come until I have at least 9 more reviews between my three one shots (Just a Story, The End, and The New Day) So that's only 3 per...or any combination. Hehehe, thanks for your reviews :)

Response to Reviews: I must admit, I was surprised at the lack of reaction at Erik's actions. There was only like two people that even commented on it. Well, there were 14 reviews. Better than some chapters, worse than others. I feel that 20 is a good number, so keep those reviews (and QUESTIONS) coming :).

Anonymous Reviews: Just one this time around

namiko-sempai: first of all, thanks for the review! I'm glad you like my story so much! That just makes me grin to get a review like that. I hope your still around.

BTW- I miss some of my old reviewers. I was going to list all of them, but I decided there were too many. But please come back to me :) I'd love to see you back. If you stopped liking my story, please let me know why you don't like it. That way, I can either make this story better, or make my next story thrice as good :)


	24. Chapter 24

"Mr. Potter."

Harry turned around and sighed. Rashida and the nurse were walking up to him. Neither one looked very happy. "You have a snake," Rashida said quietly.

"What? I can't have a pet snake?" Harry asked innocently.

"No pets in the ward!" the nurse piped up. Rashida looked at the nurse. Apparently she didn't share the came concerns.

"You speak parseltongue," Rashida continued in the same low tone. "I doubt the _real_ Harry Potter speaks parseltongue. That is a...talent left to the dark wizards." She looked at him with a piercing glare.

"That's common knowledge! Of course the real Harry Potter...I mean, of course I speak parseltongue!" Harry said defensively.

"Then why didn't you tell me?" Rashida asked, folding her arms across her chest expectantly.

"You didn't ask," Harry said with a shrug. "So, how did you find out?" Harry asked.

"Actually, I was coming to discharge you last night, and I overheard you. So naturally I ran to tell Rashida," the nurse said timidly. Harry looked at her with surprise. He hadn't heard her enter last night, and usually Giolla warned him if someone was coming. Then, the wrong people wouldn't see her.

Maybe she wanted him to get found out, Harry thought. "So, can I go?" Harry asked. He wanted to go talk to Hermione.

"I suppose," Rashida said with a sigh.

"Not yet!" the nurse broke in.

"What now?" Harry asked, more than a little perturbed.

"I want you to take one final potion," the nurse said as she handed him a goblet. Harry tried to see behind her. Where had she gotten the potion? "There's a table here," the nurse explained, seeing Harry's confusion.

Harry sheepishly drank the potion like an obedient patient. "Oh, and one more thing, Mr. Potter," Rashida said. She looked him in the eye to be sure she had his attention. "You are to follow the rules I have assigned to Mr. Weasely and Miss Granger. And do not let me learn that you are keeping more secrets from me. If you remember something that I might not know, tell me. In these days, one can never be too careful. Understand?" Her gray eyes pierced Harry's green eyes, and Harry was forced to look away.

"Yes ma'am," he said to the floor.

"Good. Now, you will be rooming with your friend, Mr. Weasely. A bed will be added for your use tonight. I believe you know where it is?" she looked at him expectantly.

Harry's mind raced as he tried to remember if anyone had told him where his friends were sleeping. He couldn't recall anything, but he wasn't going to give the woman the satisfaction of thinking he was dumb.

"Of course," he said with a shrug.

"Alright, you're free to go if the nurse will allow," Rashida said reluctantly.

Harry looked at the nurse with hopeful eyes. When she gave him a tiny nod, he jumped off of the bed and strode out of the room.

Harry wandered the halls for nearly an hour looking for Hermione. The first place he had gone was the library. That's where she had spent all of her time as a student, why would now be any different? He stopped in front of a door he didn't remember seeing last time he had walked by hear nearly twenty minutes ago. He smiled in recognition, though, when he saw the persevering Barnabas the Barmy, ever trying to teach trolls ballet. Without further hesitation, he walked into the room.

He was slightly surprised with what he saw. Apparently Rashida knew plenty of the castle's secrets. She was using the room as quarters for her extra security.

_About time you got here,_ a familiar hiss said.

_Glad to see you too,_ Harry said dryly.

_So when do I get to meet more of your charming friends?_ Giolla asked while she made herself comfortable on the nearest bed.

_I'm starting to wonder if _ I_ want to meet my 'charming friends',_ Harry admitted.

_Oh quit being so self-centered,_ Giolla said. _First you want to hide in the forest, then you want to come back home, then you deicide you don't want to be here, then you decide that you have to be here, and now you want to leave again! You're starting to give me headaches! Tom was never this hard to figure out._

_Yeah, he was pretty simple. More power more power, and more power,_ Harry agreed bitterly.

_He wasn't always like that!_ Giolla protested.

_Then what was he like?_

_Alone. Much as you are now,_ Giolla said simply.

A chill ran up Harry's spine. _What do you mean by that?_

_Exactly what I said. He had people around him that wanted to be friends with him, but he pushed them away._

_So you think I'm going to be the next dark wizard?_ Harry wouldn't believe what Giolla was saying.

_Absolute power corrupts absolutely,_ Giolla stated.

_But I don't have absolute power!_ Harry protested.

_People adore you. You defeated the darkest and most powerful wizard. It would be very easy for you to become like Tom._

_I won't!_ Harry protested. _He killed people for fun!_

_You killed Colin Creevey,_ Giolla said cruelly.

_By accident!_ Harry cried out. _But I didn't kill Belatrix,_ he pointed out.

_No, but you wanted to._

_Of course I wanted to! She killed Sirius._

_So why didn't you get your just retaliation?_

_I had one death on my conscience. I could not have handled another. She may be evil, but she still had a family, and friends. Who am I to judge who should live and who should die?_ Harry asked seriously.

_You're the most powerful wizard in the world! You can make decisions like that, _Giolla hissed menacingly.

_I am nowhere without my friends,_ Harry sadly admitted.

"Harry!" a high-pitched scream sounded from the doorway.

_Why do you keep doing this to me?_ Harry asked the snake tiredly.

_You are nowhere without your friends,_ Giolla quoted. _And your friends aren't true if they don't know your secrets._

_I hate it when you're right...and using my words no less!_ Harry pouted.

"Reducto!" came from the doorway. Harry jumped off the bed and out of the way of the beam without thinking.

"Hermione! What are you doing?" Harry demanded breathlessly as he slowly stood up.

"You're not Harry," she accused, her eyes narrowed shrewdly. "Harry would never treat Voldemort's minion like a friend!" she said shrilly. She started to walk over to Harry. And as she got closer, Harry could see bright tears in her eyes.

"You used to have buck teeth!" Harry said desperately, trying to thin of something to prove to Hermione who he was. He saw her fight at The Battle; he knew she was a formidable opponent. She stopped in her tracks and narrowed her eyes still further. "Malfoy hexed you and your teeth grew uncontrollably, and you let Pomfrey shrink them a little further than they had originally been," Harry said warily. He eyed Hermione's wand and she began to lower it slowly.

"It is you," she said.

"You started spew...S.P.E.W." Harry added for good measure.

"So why are you talking to this snake?" Hermione asked.

Harry saw suspicion flicker in her brown eyes. She didn't really believe him yet. "Your patronous is an otter," Harry said thoughtfully.

"Alright! You're Harry James Potter, now tell me why you're talking to this snake," Hermione said impatiently. Harry grinned at her eagerness to know everything.

"This is Giolla."

"Nagini, you mean?"

"No, I mean Giolla. Voldemort called her Nagini. The name she was created by Salazar Slytherin was Giolla. And before you ask, yes she was a horcrux. Somehow she managed to survive my attack on her. Then, when Voldemort died, she passed herself down the line of Salazar Slytherin...to me. Through my scar." He waited for Hermione to start asking questions.

"Do you trust her?" Hermione asked simply.

"With my life," Harry said with certainty.

"Well, I suppose that will have to suffice for me as well," Hermione said.

"What? That's it? You're just going to accept her?" Harry asked with bewilderment.

"Yes. I don't see why not. You trust her," Hermione pointed out.

"Yeah, but not at first!" he protested.

"Do you _want_ me to kill her?" Hermione asked, pulling her wand out again.

"Well...no," Harry admitted.

"Then I see no problem."

Harry sighed to himself and rolled his eyes, women...

"Hermione, I need help," Harry said after a moment. Hermione took a seat on a nearby bed.

"What is it?" she asked after she took a second to make herself comfortable.

"Ginny."

"Say no more. You really should apologize to her. You were awful! And it hasn't just been one instance. First you ran away, then you ignore her, then you tell her to go away!"

Harry opened his mouth in question, but Hermione stopped him.

"Ginny told me. So you need to go and apologize to the poor girl, she was in a right state when she told me what you said to her! But don't expect anything when you apologize to her. You were a real jerk."

"Thanks for pointing that out for me," Harry said with an audible sigh.

"Well, you were, but a blind man could see that you two belong together, and you miss her like crazy," Hermione said.

"I suppose you're right..." Harry said slowly.

_Isn't that what I've _been _saying?_ Giolla asked sulkily.

"What did she say?" Hermione asked with interest.

"Nothing," Harry said as he cast Giolla a look, telling her to shut up.

_Well it is! I told you that you missed her, that you belonged together, and that you should apologize! _I_ didn't get a 'you're right.' All I got was yelled at! Apparently I don't know anything about relationships, but this little girl knows everything, and I have _a lot _more life experience than _she_ does! I'm hundreds of years older than her!_ Giolla said bitterly.

"She sure has a lot to say about nothing. What is she saying?" Hermione asked skeptically. Harry noticed that Hermione was starting to doubt his integrity, so he told her.

"She says that what you told me is what she's been telling me," Harry said sheepishly.

Hermione laughed. "And why didn't you listen to her? It's good advice," Hermione asked with a smile.

Harry said nothing, but a smile was beginning to creep its way onto his face. He wouldn't allow it full reign, though.

Harry's stomach chose that second of silence to growl greedily.

"Oh! I nearly forgot! It's time for dinner," Hermione said. She grabbed Harry's arm and pulled him off of the bed. He didn't resist at first, but then a thought struck him.

"What if Ginny's there?" he asked fearfully.

"It'd be good for you. You'd get to apologize to her, but she won't be there."

"How do you know that?" Harry asked as they continued down the hallway.

"Or at least... she shouldn't be there. She said she was going to work on her Potions essay in the library."

"Ginny working on homework instead of going to dinner?" Harry asked, amused.

"Yeah, since her position as Team Captain was put on the line," Hermione said disapprovingly.

"Well, can I run to Snape's room and see if he has any polyjuice potion? I don't want people to I'm back yet..." he said quietly, slowing his pace.

"Oh, don't be silly. People are going to know you're here at some point or another. After all, you do have the acceptance ceremony for the Order of Merlin," Hermione said exasperatedly. She pulled open the doors to the Great Hall and pulled Harry in after her.

Harry held his breath and waited for the ringing silence, the stares, the whispers, and the usual things that happened when he returned to the student body. He stopped in surprise though when nothing changed. The students continued eating and talking. No one even spared him a glance. Harry took a few hesitant steps into the room, waiting for the reaction of everybody. Still, no one noticed him.

Harry was caught between whooping for joy and being disappointed. Everyone was treating him like he was normal. Or had they forgotten him? Harry had gotten used to people gawking at him and bothering him. He had expected the to crowd to him the moment he walked in the door.

Harry's stomach did a somersault. What happened? Had he become conceited? Did he let his popularity go to his head? Harry was sickened by the thought that maybe he was going to be as bad as Malfoy, or worse, Tom Riddle. Harry's palms started to sweat. He wouldn't let the student body's attitude bother him. He was going to be happy that they were treating him like a normal boy. After all, wasn't that what he had wanted, to be treated like a normal boy and his fame forgotten?

He forced himself to be honest with himself, though. He was hurt by their apathy. He was starting to enjoy the attention.

He clenched his fists tighter. Had Rita Skeeter been right? Was that all he was? An attention hungry mentally unstable boy?

No, he told himself. The people loved him because he rid the world of the largest menace ever known. He was not attention hungry; the people just gave him the attention. And just because he got accustomed to being crowded around, did not mean that he was attention hungry.

But maybe he was going to turn into another Tom Riddle, forcing people to do as he wished, become power hungry because he missed the attention he had gotten as 'the boy who lived'. After all he had done for the wizarding world, shouldn't these students be excitedly whispering that the single person they had to thank for their safety had just walked into their dining room?

"Harry?" Hermione asked, interrupting Harry's terrifying thoughts. "Are you okay?"

Harry mentally shook his head. "Yeah, it just feels strange to be back," he said as he calmed himself and assured himself that he was just another eighteen year old boy, and that he wasn't going to become the next greatest fear.

The pair walked to the Gryffindor table and joined Ron for dinner, no one ever noticing the return of the famous Harry Potter.

**AN:** Alright, so I've now come to my senses, no one reads these things. So I'll just say this really quickly: the more reviews I get (both on here and on my one shots) the faster I update, that simple.

Anonymous Reviews:

yay an update: ("awesome writing!") why thank you! takes a bow


	25. Chapter 25

Harry paced inside the Room of Requirements. Following Rashida's rules, he hadn't changed the room to suit his one purpose, to be somewhere where no one could find him, to be a room where he could feel safe and at home. It was to remain as the housing for the four, now five, students providing extra security. Hermione and Ron were wondering the halls doing their duties, but Harry didn't have anything to do. Before Hermione had left, she had looked at Harry pointedly and told him that Ginny had break until dinner. Harry wanted to apologize to her more than anything, but he couldn't. He couldn't bare the thought of facing Ginny with his face. He had refrained from looking in the mirror ever since he came to Hogwarts, but he didn't need a daily reminder of how hideous his face was.

_Just talk to her. She loves you and you love her. Everything will be okay,_ a comforting hiss came from his bed.

_Easy for you to say. You're not the one with the monstrous face,_ Harry retorted bitterly.

_Your face isn't that bad anymore,_ Giolla said.

Harry stopped himself from touching his face. He didn't want to deal with the realization of his disfigurement again.

_Do you love her?_ Giolla asked suddenly.

_More than the world,_ Harry said defiantly.

_Do you miss her?_

_Never have I missed something or someone more._

_Then why don't you go to her?_

_Because this is what's best for her. She deserves better than me. Even Ron, Ginny, and Erik agree with me,_ Harry said.

_Shut up with your self-pity. If you don't go see her right now, I'm going to personally bite your ankles until you go. _

_Please do, that way I can die from your poison,_ Harry said collapsing on Ron's bed.

_Harry, _Giolla said in a warning tone.

The door opened and Harry jumped off of Ron's bed and Giolla disappeared underneath Harry's covers.

"Oh, hi Harry," Roger said as he walked in the room.

"Hi Roger. I'd love to stay and catch up with you, but I promised Ron I'd come wander the halls with him," Harry said, hurriedly making his way to the door.

"Okay, I'll talk to you later then," Roger said, flopping onto his bed.

"Later," Harry said, rushing out the door.

"Funny kid," Roger commented at the closed door.

---

Harry walked down the halls, muttering to himself. "Just say, 'I'm sorry.' No big deal." Harry kept his face averted from the various students walking the halls. He walked well into dinnertime, not noticing the passing of time.

Just as some students began walking out of dinner, Harry walked past the Great Hall. He thought about going in and getting a bite to eat, but decided against it; she might be in there.

"Harry! What are you doing?" Ron asked as he saw his friend walk away from the Great Hall. "Come get some food with me!" he called, beckoning to his friend.

Harry kept walking down the hallway. "Oy! Harry!" Ron cried, giving chase to his friend. "What's gotten into you?" he asked when he pulled up next to Harry. "Come eat with me. I've got something I want to talk to you about."

Harry looked at his friend suspiciously. Ron's tone was far too light, but Harry followed Ron into the Great Hall. Ron helped himself to some food and Harry followed suit.

"What did you want to talk about?" Harry asked, pushing his food around his plate.

"Why didn't you tell me Erik had killed Charlie?" Ron said, putting his fork down.

"You never asked," Harry said.

"You weren't the easiest person to ask! We couldn't get any letters to you, we tried!" Ron said exasperatedly. "We tried getting you to come home, but I guess our letters never got to you."

"They got to me," Harry said simply.

"They got to your hands, I know that. You replied to one or two saying it was better if you stayed away, but they didn't get to you you. They didn't reach my best mate. They reached the boy who lived."

Harry looked at Ron a little guiltily. "With this face, can't you believe that it was better if I stayed away?"

"What face?" Ron asked.

Harry looked at Ron sourly and took a bite of his mashed potatoes.

"Harry, is it really this hard to apologize?" Ron asked.

"What am I even apologizing for? For bringing you guys into this? For killing Colin? For trying to do what's best for you?"

"Harry James Potter! You know exactly what you should be apologizing for," Ron said angrily.

"For running away and hiding," Harry said resignedly.

"Yeah, and leaving everyone to worry senselessly."

"Ron?"

"What, Harry?"

"Do you honestly think Ginny deserves better than me?"

"Well, you _are_ better than that Erik fellow that killed Charlie," Ron said, his eyes sparking in anger. "But you're a far cry from what I think Ginny deserves, yes."

"What does Ginny deserve?"

"Someone who will be there for her. Someone she can count on. Someone who doesn't always take the blame. Someone who can _apologize_," Ron said, putting emphasis on the last statement.

"But it is my fault all those people died! And I won't apologize for doing something that was right. I should never have come back. I don't belong here," Harry said bitterly.

Ron stared at Harry angrily. "Harry, pull yourself together! If you don't shape up soon, I am going to do everything I can to keep you away from my sister. I won't allow you to hurt her like you did again." Ron stood up, upsetting his plate and causing a loud bang as it hit the floor. Ron walked out of the door heatedly. Harry looked down at his plate, trying to figure out what to do.

"I'm going to apologize to her," he quietly declared to himself. He stood up resolutely and followed Ron's path out of the Great Hall.

He walked around the halls, this time honestly looking for Ginny. He had just about given up when he ran into Hermione. "She's in the common room. The password is Hocus Pocus." With that, Hermione continued her trek down the hall. Harry sighed resignedly. He didn't have any excuse to not talk to her now.

He stood in front of the portrait of the Fat Lady, staring at her. "Well, do you have a password for me? Or are you going to just stand there all night?" she asked irratibly.

"Hocus Pocus," he said, half hoping Hermione had told him the wrong password.

The portrait swung open and Harry walked in. He saw a group of girls laughing, and Ginny's head poked up from the group. He saw her laugh as she excused herself from the group. Harry expected her to go up to her dormitory, but she walked right over to him.

"I was wandering how long it would take before you came here," she said frostily. Harry looked at her, waiting for her to say something else. "Why don't we go outside?" she offered kindly. Harry motioned for her to go ahead of him.

Once they were outside the common room, Ginny looked at Harry expectantly. Harry looked at her eyes briefly before looking at the ground.

"Well?" Ginny prompted. She tried to catch his eye, but he determinedly continued facing away from her. "Look at me!" she said exasperatedly.

Harry looked up sheepishly. He met Ginny's eyes and started to turn ashamedly away, but she caught his chin in her hand.

"You have to talk to me sometime or another," she said, looking him in the eye.

"Is my face hideous?" he asked at last.

Ginny looked sadly at his pitiful green eyes. "No, it's very handsome," she said earnestly. Harry jerked away from her.

"You're lying."

Ginny sighed. She didn't want to pick a fight with Harry. Not when he was so close to apologizing. "Why did you come to the common room? I know it wasn't to ask me about your face," Ginny said, biting back her anger at Harry's self-pitying attitude.

"Ron told me that you deserve better than me, and I-"

"Oh Harry!" Ginny said, interrupting Harry. "He didn't mean it! You just need to stop blaming yourself!" she said. She wanted to give him a hug and make him understand that he was perfect for her, but she stopped herself.

"and I agree with him," Harry said resolutely. Ginny looked at Harry, bewildered. Where was he going with this? "So, I came by just to let you know that-"

"Harry, you can't leave!" Ginny cried, interrupting Harry again as she saw where he was going. She kicked herself mentally. So much for not turning back to him. So much for waiting for _his_ apology.

"Who said I was going anywhere?" Harry asked. "I was just going to tell you that you should forget about me and move on."

"What? And what I think has nothing to do with this? You're just going to tell me who deserves me, who I deserve? Harry Potter, I think you are wrong." Ginny looked at Harry coolly. No one was going to tell her who she could be close to.

"Fine, then maybe I will leave. Then you can find someone else and learn to move on. Take off your rose-tinted glasses and look at the man behind the fantasy you've created. Your little crush won't last forever, and one day, you'll see whom I really am, and you're going to realize that you should have forgotten about me years ago. Why don't you send an owl to your precious Erik and tell him you made a mistake. You want to get to know him again." Harry started to turn around, but Ginny grabbed his shoulder and stopped him.

"Harry James Potter, how DARE you suggest that I would go out with my brother's MURDERER? You are sorely mistaken if you think that I could dishonor Charlie's memory like that! And you're wrong about my little fantasy; it broke apart years ago. Although I wasn't upset at what I saw, I saw the real Harry Potter, a boy way better than I could ever imagine. Surprisingly enough, however, your one-track mind managed to find at least one truth in all of your self-pity. I will forget about you. And one day, when you realize what a git you're being, it will be far too late. I never want to see your monstrous face again. If you come anywhere near me, I will personally be sure that the Daily Prophet hears of just how Colin Creevey died." Ginny glared at Harry. He looked at her, his face white at the mention of Colin Creevey. "What are you staring at? Go!" Ginny yelled at him. "And don't you dare come crawling back if you ever realize that you didn't mean what you said," she added venomously.

Harry turned around, shocked at Ginny's outburst. He had deserved it, he knew, but it didn't take the sting away at all. "Take this," he said quietly, pulling an envelope from his pocket. Ginny took the envelope from his hand, but continued glaring at him.

"Get away from me, Potter," she said quietly, ignoring his saddened demeanor. He should be sad, he just lost his last chance of getting her forgiveness.

Ginny watched with fire in her eyes as Harry walked down the hall. She only turned to go back into the common room when she couldn't see him anymore.

She stormed into the common room, her face flushed with anger. Her friends looked at her concernedly, but she angrily glared at them, causing them to stop in their tracks as they were moving to comfort her. She stalked up to her dormitory and slammed the door behind her. Once the door was safely shut, she put a quick silencing charm on the door and burst into tears. She didn't want to push Harry away like that, but she wasn't going to waste her life on him either.

"I deserve better than a git like him," she told herself through her helpless tears.

She blinked past a few more tears and opened the envelope Harry had given her, her curiosity getting the better of her.

She gasped when she looked at the photograph. A piece of parchment had fluttered out with the picture. Ginny picked up the note and read it.

_Colin's last picture. I'm sorry you had to see me do that._

Ginny couldn't hold back the tears any longer. She let them come as she realized that maybe she shouldn't have jumped on Harry like that.

"I still deserve better than him," she told herself again, though her voice didn't seem nearly as spiteful as before.

**AN:** Well, there you have it, chapter 25. I hope you guys liked it!

fyi- last chapter will not have an author's note, BUT I will post one as a seperate thing...i'm sorry if this makes anyone mad, but my ending needs to be an ending and nothing more. maybe i'll add in a quick epilogue so i don't get yelled at, depending on reactions.

Anonymous Reviews:

Carlie: what do you think of Harry now? and now you know what's going to...or rather what did happen :)

Sarah: I'm sure you have more interesting things to put, but that's okay :) you seemed to like the chapter, so I forgive you :)


	26. Chapter 26

"Harry?"

Harry looked up from the book he was reading. "Hey Ron," he said, marking his place in the book and putting it down. Ron stepped the rest of the way into the room. He stood a few feet away from Harry and shuffled his feet nervously. "You want to go flying?" Harry offered. "You can fly the Firebolt," Harry said enticingly. He wanted to talk to Ron. The last thing he wanted was to lose his best friend.

"Sounds great," Ron agreed, smiling. Harry stood up and they walked out of the room together, an awkward silence filling the air around them. "Umm...Harry?" Ron began, slowing down a little bit.

"Yeah?" Harry said, looking at Ron expectantly, slowing to match Ron's new pace.

"I just wanted to say I'm sorry for the other day," Ron said, hanging his head. "I shouldn't have said that about you and Ginny. You just have to understand that it was killing me all summer to watch her be miserable about you. I was so mad at you for making everyone in my family so upset." Ron stopped walking and looked at Harry.

"I do understand, and _you_ have to understand that I love your sister, and I will never hurt her again," Harry said earnestly, stopping and turning to look Ron in the face. A smile broke out across his face. "Besides, it was funny listening to you. You sounded like a girl. 'Oh Harry, be a better person. Oh Harry, you're better than that icky Erik guy. Harry, I'm going to strangle you with my bare hands!'" Harry said in a high-pitched voice, mimicking Ron from their last conversation.

"Hey!" Ron said, his ears beginning to turn red. Ron punched Harry lightly on the shoulder and they starting walking again.

The two friends walked in amiable silence for a few minutes before Ron tentatively opened his mouth. He closed it, though, afraid to break the bond he and Harry seemed to have finally recreated.

"What is it Ron?" Harry asked, noticing his friend's hesitation.

"I was just wondering, what was The Battle like for you? I never got to talk about it with you."

"Oh," Harry said. That wasn't a question he had been looking forward to answering.

"You don't have to tell me," Ron said hastily.

"But I want to," Harry lied. "I had thought I was ready for The Battle. I had studied defensive and offensive spells; I had practiced dueling. I thought I'd be unstoppable. I knew Voldemort would be hard to defeat, I mean, how on earth do I use love in a war? But as for all those other Death Eaters, I could handle them. It wasn't until I saw my friends in the fray that I faltered. I saw you guys fighting for your lives. It was the most terrifying sight I had ever seen. You guys were still young, and you might die because of me. Then I saw Seamus actually die, quickly followed by Fleur. Fleur was a true part-veela until the end. It was ironic. I thought it was Voldemort all the Death Eaters were crowding around. But of course not, it was Fleur being a veela and attracting all the guys. Then some woman came over and killed her. Then I saw Charlie fall. I was so angry that so many people were dying. I couldn't handle it. Then I saw Voldemort, and I knew that he was causing all of this. If I got rid of him, my friends would stop dying. So I guess you could say love helped me win the war. I saw everyone I loved dying and getting hurt, and that angered me more than anything else could have. That rage gave me the drive and the determination to kill Voldemort no matter the cost. But after I killed him, the magnitude of the war fell on me. I couldn't stick around and see you guys suffer after I had done everything I could to end your suffering. I ran away, I didn't think I could look any of you in the eye and not remember everything _I_ had put you through. I didn't mean to make everything worse by disappearing, I was trying to make it easier to forget." Harry stopped talking and looked at the floor.

Ron looked at his friend, speechless. How do you respond to something like that? He decided to ignore most of Harry's confession. "Well, you're back now, and that's all that matters," Ron assured Harry.

Harry smiled, breaking from his reverie, "And you're sounding like a sappy girl again."

"You're impossible," Ron said, laughing slightly.

The friends continued walking. "So you've apologized to Ginny?" Ron asked, offhandedly.

"More or less," Harry said vaguely.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Ron asked suspiciously.

"Well, I tried to apologize to her, but we wound up yelling at each other," Harry admitted. Ron sighed.

"I suppose you'll get around to it," Ron allowed. "Just don't take too long, Ginny will move on, even without my prompting," he warned.

"So how's everyone in your family doing these days?" Harry asked, changing subjects. He didn't like to think of Ginny moving on.

"Dad's enjoying a life of luxury as Mum does everything for him. The twins will be moving out in a week, a couple days after Dad goes back to work. Oh, and they sent a letter to Ginny about Erik. Apparently Angelina was the one to convince the twins that Erik had denounced the dark side. She feels really bad that she was wrong about her neighbor. They had been friends since they were born, and Angelina didn't think Erik capable of hurting anyone. And she told them to tell Ginny that Erik left the country a couple days ago."

"It's okay, he didn't hurt anyone after Charlie, and we're rid of him. Erik doesn't matter anymore. Tell me about Bill. How's he been the past couple of days? Has he found a girl yet?"

"No, he's still single. You should tell him about Fleur's last moments, I think he'd like to hear it," Ron suggested.

"I'll do that," Harry said. The friends walked into the entrance hall in silence.

"So how did you find out about Ginny and Erik?" Ron asked.

"Oh...I was under the invisibility cloak. I was going to say hi to her, but then I saw her with Erik. At first, I thought she could see me, and then Erik ran up to her. I didn't like him at all, and then I saw the scar on his neck, the scar that I had put there after he had killed Charlie. I couldn't believe that Ginny would dare hang out with a Death Eater, so I left."

"Yeah, her friends told me that Ginny was seeing him in the common room...I was...am very disappointed in her. Where did you get your invisibility cloak? You left it at school when you went to The Battle," Ron asked, trying to remember if Harry had taken it with him.

"Oh, Snape gave it to me," Harry said. He laughed when he saw the shock on Ron's face. "I was looking into the Mirror of Erised, and he found me. He took me to his office where he tried to convince me to come back to the real world, to you guys. But then this student came in, he shoved me into a closet and when I came out, my cloak was folded inside an envelope with a note that said it was my choice to do whatever I wanted." Harry smiled as he remembered what he had first heard when he walked out of Snape's office. "And you hit Hermione?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

Ron's ears turned red. "I was trying to convince her that you were never coming back."

"Shame on you Ron, hitting a lady!" Harry mock-scolded.

"So what did you see in the Mirror of Erised?" Ron asked, changing subjects. He wasn't exactly proud of hitting Hermione.

"Nothing, oddly enough."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Ron asked.

"Well, when I looked into the mirror, I just saw all these blurry shapes. I never thought the mirror could be confused. But I guess since I had killed Voldemort, I didn't have a heart's desire. I figured I had accomplished my task. I mean, I wanted to come back to you guys, but that was also the last thing I wanted to do. It was almost looking into a Foe Glass when there's a distant enemy," Harry said, at a loss for words.

"That's weird..." Ron said, thinking. "What do you think it would show you now?"

"That's a question only the mirror can answer."

"How come it didn't show you with your family again?" Ron asked, remembering Harry's last encounter with the mirror.

"I guess because I have a family now," Harry said, smiling at his friend.

"Oh Harry! You're making me blush!" Ron said, laughing as Harry shoved Ron lightly to the side.

The friends smiled and walked the rest of the way to the Quidditch pitch in silence. There were so many more questions they had for each other, but they could wait. No one would have guessed how many questions a few weeks apart could raise, but they were strenuous and hard weeks. For now, all the important questions had been answered.

Harry opened the broom shed and pulled out his Firebolt and a school broom. He handed the former to Ron and grabbed a quaffle as well. Harry didn't wait to enter the pitch before mounting his broom. Before Ron had a chance to mount his broom, Harry was zooming to the stands. However, the Firebolt's superior speed won in the end and Ron was the first one to the pitch. Harry and Ron passed the quaffle back and forth for a few minutes, trying more daring catches each time. Ron was reveling in the Firebolt's sensitivity and speed and was making far better catches than Harry who was having problems stopping from high speeds.

Ron laughed as Harry gently tossed the quaffle to Ron as he struggled to convince the school broom to sit still. Ron did a quick loop-to-loop before catching the red ball. He tossed the quaffle underhand at Harry's chest, but it fell to the ground and Ron chased after it. When he came back to Harry's altitude he looked at his friend oddly. It wasn't like Harry to not catch something. If he could catch a snitch while zooming past other people and dodging bludgers, he should be able to catch a gentle toss of a clumsy quaffle.

Harry was staring at the ground behind Ron. "Harry?" Ron asked trying to get Harry's attention. "Harry!" Ron said, waving his hand in front of Harry. "Look! It's Malfoy!" Ron said, zooming in circles around Harry. Ron sighed and looked to the ground. He smiled knowingly when he saw the red hair blowing in the wind. He had forgotten; Gryffindor had practice today. "I'll be going then," he told Harry. Harry gave no indication that he had heard Ron, let alone noticed Ron landing the broom.

Ron began to walk over to the Quidditch team. He saw Ginny looking into the sky, at Harry. Ron walked up to the younger teammates. "Um...I need to ask you guys some questions...in the...place," Ron told them.

"About what?" a girl with spiky hair asked defiantly.

"About the thing at the place," Ron said, unable to come up with a good excuse.

"The what?" a boy asked, folding his arms around his broom.

"You know! The thing at the place with the people," Ron said suggestively. The team looked at Ron like he was nuts. Ron thought about what he said and had to agree with them, he sounded nuts.

"Rashida wants me to ask you guys about a certain event that happened because she's worried about security because of this thing and these people," Ron said, trying to sound authoritative. He dimly noticed Ginny begin to slowly mount her broom. "Look, just come with me. It's urgent," Ron said impatiently. He broke through the small crowd, hurriedly walking into the changing rooms. The confused Quidditch team followed him, looking at each other questioningly.

Once inside the changing rooms, Ron turned to them. "Have a seat, I have to go get another security person. Rashida wanted at least two to make sure that no one skews what the students say," Ron said as he walked out of the changing rooms. The students looked at one another and shrugged.

Out on the Quidditch pitch, Harry and Ginny were closing the distance between them. They were locked in each other's gazes. The tension in the air made the rickety school broom quiver imperceptibly. Harry wanted to open his mouth and say something, but he was afraid that by breaking the thick silence, he'd break the moment where he and Ginny could be by each other without arguing.

Ginny looked at Harry and couldn't find anything to say. She opened her mouth to say something, but Harry's broom lurched and he fell a few feet. He pulled it up, level with her once again, smiling embarrassedly.

She reached over to him and traced her finger delicately down the last scar on his cheek. "The picture was amazing. Don't be sorry, handsome," Ginny said quietly. Harry's smile disappeared and for a moment Ginny was afraid she had said the wrong thing.

She gasped as she found herself wrapped in Harry's arms. He hugged her tightly as if he was never going to let go. Ginny didn't hesitate and hugged him back, gripping him even tighter than he was holding onto her. They controlled their brooms with their knees, keeping them close together.

"I love you," Harry whispered into Ginny's ear, through her red hair.

"About time you figured it out," Ginny said. Harry felt her laugh in his arms.

From the stands over looking the field, a corner of the boy's lips turned upwards. "Well, Harry, you aren't there yet, but you are well on your way to winning The Final Battle: she loves you," the red haired boy whispered to himself.

_Coniecto_


	27. Epilogue

**AN:** All right guys, here's the real end. I hope you enjoyed the story and will enjoy the epilogue. Now, even though the story is complete and won't be any more updates, please drop some reviews. I really appreciate knowing that people read my stories, and I love getting feedback (positive or negative) and I will use the feedback to make my next story (which I am slowly working on) even better. Thanks for all the support all the way through!

I looked at his turned back. What was he thinking? How could he think that I would ever not help him? So now he's given up.

"Ginny, it's what you think. I'm not giving up because I want to. It's because I have no choice."

"Harry! You have a choice!" How could he think that everything he does is because he has to do it? He's fully capable of making his own decisions, most of the time.

"Please, understand me. I can't help rebuild everyone's lives. It's too big of a job for me. I'm the destroyer of evil, not the creator of good. I destroyed Voldemort once and gave everyone hope. I destroyed him again and managed to destroy my friends' lives. Now they're asking me to be the hero again and kiss babies and stuff. That's not me. I want to blend into the background."

He turned around and looked at me. He later denied it, but plain as day, I saw tears in his green eyes. Tears of frustration and grief. I couldn't get mad at him. I had told him I would stand by him no matter what he wanted to do. If I don't support him now, he'll just disappear again on me. "Where are we going?" I asked him quietly. I could feel the desire in his gaze, desire to get away from everything that surrounded him here, everything that came with being the sole defeater of Voldemort. He wouldn't sit here and watch as everyone else struggled to live after The Battle, after so much loss. It wasn't in his nature to sit passively, to tell people he couldn't help. He would always try, but maybe just this once, he wouldn't. Although, maybe, just this once he couldn't. Most of the people that had died on our side were people that Harry himself had told what to do. Harry had sent most of these families to cemeteries to claim the mangled bodies of their kin. Even I wouldn't be able to keep him here and make him go back to his old life.

"We?" he asked. I stared at him incredulously.

"Harry," I said sadly. He hung his head. He knew what I was going to say, but I had to make sure he really knew. "I know you're going to leave. I can't, I won't ask you to stay, but I will ask you to take me with you."

"You're so young!" he protested.

"So are you, yet you feel like you've aged beyond numbers. War makes people grow up a little faster."

"Just wait two years, I'll come back for you. I promise." He looked at me, begging me to tell him that it was okay, that I'd let him go off on his own.

"No."

"Why not, Ginny? You have your own problems to deal with here. Running away isn't the answer. Not for you. I know you, you like to fight things through to the bitter end."

"Maybe I do have problems here. Maybe I do need to work out a bunch of things with a bunch of people. But my biggest problem right now is you, and _that_ I will fight until the bitter end."

Harry's shoulders slumped. And in that moment, I knew he understood. I would never leave him, and he will never leave me.

---

"Please talk to your sister. I need to get out of here, and she can't come along. She's so young!"

"She's not a little girl anymore. If you really want to leave her here, then just disappear in the middle of the night again."

"Ron, you know I can't do that!"

Finally, he got the idea. After all we've done for him, how could he even _think_ to leave again. I've missed him. "Then either take her with you, or stay here. She will go where you go, but by God, don't tell her one thing and do the other, it'll kill her."

He looked at me. He knew I was right. And if he hurt my sister one more time, it'll kill him too, I'd make sure of it.

"But she's so-"

"Don't even say it. After what she saw during The Battle, she's not an innocent little girl that you can protect. And why aren't you worried about me coming with you? Did you think you could give me the slip? I'm sorry, but you are sorely mistaken. Where you go, Harry, I'm coming with you. You can't be alone, it will drive a man insane."

"Ron, it's not that I was going to leave you!" he protested.

"What? So you'll allow me to come with you, but you won't let Ginny? Why?"

"Because I'm scared!" Harry shouted. I looked at him, stunned. Scared? Of what? "What if she comes with me and decides she can't handle it? What if she decides that I'm not worth the trouble? And some things have to be done alone. I had to face Voldemort alone, and I have to face the results alone too."

"When will you understand? You have come home to a family that _loves_ you. You never have to face anything alone again. You have me; you have Hermione; you have Ginny; you have my entire family!" I glared at him, angry with him for not understanding. I know he wasn't being a prat by decision, but his self-pity was getting to be too much. "And what on earth would you have to face that my sister wouldn't be able to handle?" After he left, Ginny had gone through so much, if there was something out there she couldn't handle, I was not going to let my best friend handle it alone. And yes, I was angry with him, I was ready to curse him to oblivion, but by God, he was my best friend, and I was going to make him learn that he will never be alone again, no matter how many times he forgot that I have stuck with him from beginning to end.

"Guilt." he answered solemnly.

"Guilt!" I shouted. How could he think he was the only person to deal with guilt; how _dare_ he? "Because knowing that you might be alive out there, somewhere, while holding hands with a near stranger; knowing that no one was out looking for you because everyone was needed at home and knowing she was capable to go looking yet didn't; thinking that you left because of her, has nothing, absolutely nothing to do with guilt. While you were gone, she had to deal with a lot more than you did."

"Ron."

"Harry," I began, my face loosening a little bit. I wasn't going to lose my temper.

"Where's Hermione?" he asked, changing the subject resignedly. I could see the guilt in his eyes. He knew that he was the reason Ginny had to deal with so much.

"She's out shopping for her parents' anniversary. And don't worry about Ginny. She was given nothing more than she could handle. Perhaps you did the right thing by leaving. Maybe what you needed was some time alone, and if you had come home right away, you wouldn't have gotten two minutes to think peacefully."

"And perhaps I did the worst thing by leaving," Harry offered miserably.

"Perhaps, but we don't know. I don't think we'll ever know, and honestly, I don't care. All that matters is you're back now, and once again, I've got someone to just sit next to at the Leaky Cauldron and have a few good laughs with." Harry opened his mouth and I cut him off, "Someone I've known only as a guy's best mate, doesn't have red hair, or try to tell me that they're sorry for me."

Harry grinned at me and I couldn't help but return the unguarded smile. Harry was back, not just physically, but emotionally now too.

---

How could I ever have doubted them? Ron was right; they've been with me from day one. They've given me no reason to think that they wouldn't care; yet I ran away from them, thinking that I would never be welcomed in their presence again.

I never thought I'd say this and mean it, but it feels good to be home.

I took in the emerald green walls and the posters of Quidditch teams. I smiled at the picture on the nightstand next to the rickety bed. I ran my hand over the worn desk, reveling in the feeling of the age-softened wood. A year ago, I couldn't have said what this room looked like. It was always kept closed, warding off unwanted visitors, keeping the room clean and familiar to the boy flying with dragons in Romania. But now the door was always open, and I knew every centimeter of the room. With one glance at the small room, I could tell you if a wind had blown through and shifted the thin curtains. Other people might call it shabby, most would call it a step down from my room of my childhood days, but I'd call it a thousand steps up, and immeasurable improvement. It was the best room a man could want. It was my room, not Dudley's second bedroom, but my bedroom. Though not everything in the room was mine, it didn't have to be. Some things could never be moved. The calendar on the wall remained. It was eight years old with a big red circle around twenty-seventh of July. 'Romania!' was written across it in bold letters.

I smiled while I sat down, listening to the creaking of the bed. I rolled over, listening to the creaking and groaning as if it were music. I laced my fingers together and rested my head on them. Who was I kidding? I wasn't going anywhere. Just because I could leave the country and start a new life didn't mean I should. This was where I belonged, no matter how hard it would be to tell people I wasn't going to be the hero anymore, I wasn't going anywhere: this is my home and no one will ever chase me out.

One year and seven days after I told Ginny Weasely I loved her while hovering above the Quidditch pitch, I won The Final Battle. I defeated the last remains of Lord Voldemort. I overcame the monster within me and won The Final Battle, the battle to love again.


End file.
